The Reeducation of Jocelyn Possible
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: Sequel to Cryptic...kind of. Latest in the Pariah universe. Joss comes to stay with Trin and Kim for the summer. The sisters try to connect with Joss, who is a little difficult about things. Can Joss learn to get along with her cousins?
1. Hard news over breakfast

I don't own these characters; Disney does. I do own Trin, Shin, Tatsu, and Booker.

A/N: For you Shin fans, this is another story that he's not really in. Sorry. Also, you might want to read "Cryptic" to remind yourself what happened when we last saw Joss. And the story earns it's M-rating right now.

The Reeducation of Jocelyn Possible

1: Hard news over breakfast

The apartment was cloaked in shadows, hugged by the night like a gentle lover. Everything was still…well, almost everything. The apartment was not the only one being held by a gentle lover.

"Oh, god!"

Passion-fueled, earth-shattering moans followed what could have been mistaken for a prayer…or someone just enjoying taking the Lord's name in vain. The words bounced off of the walls, but missed the ears of the source each time they returned. The mouth speaking would actually be surprised that words were flowing; was the brain capable of instruction with such a delicious distraction? Apparently so.

"Oh, god!"

Blonde locks spilled over a pink-covered pillow as the owner thrashed about wildly as more loud "prayers" erupted from a wide open mouth. Tears gathered and fell from eyes that were seared shut from the fiery pleasure burning through lively veins thanks to receptive nerves. The tears mixed with the thin glow of sweat coating the writhing, pale body, making the squirming form's joy known in every possible way.

"Oh, god!"

Small hands slammed against the headboard of the large bed and then shot back downward, entangling themselves in an unruly mop of ebony hair that was going in every direction, upsetting gravity with its disobedience. Feeling the pressure, the response to the hands losing themselves in onyx locks, a tan hand crept upward from underneath pink covers. The tanned appendage trailed a hot path from the creamy abdomen to a bouncing breast. Strong fingers stilled the excited mound and entertained the soft hill with deep, tender kneading.

"Oh, god!"

As more "prayers" flowed, the devout follower felt more and more like the worshipped. The warm, knowing worshipper that was turning her inside out with the simplest of movements had to be divine. She was convinced of that; only a goddess could do something so perfectly, so absolute.

"Oh, god!"

Nectar, the libation, was taken in with fervor as it flowed from the goddess. The worshipper wanted nothing more than to drink the sweet wine forever, to hear those ardent screams forever, and to feel the fair body writhe due to her for all eternity. Alas, that was not meant to be; the clenching around her, like heaven beaconing her, told her that nothing lasted forever. But, things could be prolonged.

"Oh, god!"

The "prayers" were the same, but the motion of the worship changed. The pace was sped up, mouth murmuring, beseeching for glory—and forgiveness. Hands pressed, begging for peace—and amnesty. A final "prayer" was offered, undoubtedly loud enough to touch the heavens as paradise was achieved—and salvation should have been attained. Movement ceased as the session was winding down. Glory and peace were reached, but forgiveness, amnesty, and salvation still seemed like a dream.

"Baby, you are a love goddess," Trin muttered as she continued to try to catch her breath.

There was no verbal response, but Tatsu did try to bury herself deeper in flushed skin, cuddling into burning flesh. Trin giggled a little because of her lover impersonating a mole and reached down, wanting to bring Tatsu to her level. It was no easy task since Trin was not really attempting to do any lifting and Tatsu did not seem very interested in moving.

"Baby, I can't return the favor if you stay down there," the blonde pointed out with a pout on her face. She was looking forward to returning the favor.

Tatsu, again, did not respond verbally. She wrapped her arms around Trin's waist and buried herself as deep as she could in the warmth of the body beneath her. Her hands took up residency on the cushion of Trin's ass and she held on for dear life, like she was scared if she did not Trin would disappear.

"Baby—" The blonde did not get to go further than the term of endearment.

"Sleep…" Tatsu muttered. She was quite content where she was as she leaned against wonderfully hot flesh.

Trin watched as her lover drifted off to sleep, head resting on Trin's pale thigh. The blonde smiled softly at the sight, but a sigh escaped her lips as her shoulders slumped. She made sure Tatsu was covered as best she could be with the sheet on the bed while she supposed that she lucky it was such a warm night since she was going to be sleeping bare to the room.

"Why won't you let me touch you anymore, baby?" Trin asked in a low, sorrowful voice. The hot air that still smelled of her passion offered her no answer. Tatsu's light breathing was not of much assistance on the matter either.

The blonde could not recall the last time that she had been able to bring her love to climax and it was hurting her places that she did not even know existed until recently. Their encounters lately consisted of Tatsu making love to her and then falling sleep as soon as she possibly could without making their time together awkward. Trin was not sure what to make of such behavior, but it was troubling her. Troubling her enough that her mind pondered it almost every night and came up with strange theories as often as possible.

"_I would think that if she doesn't find me attractive anymore, she would stop touching me rather than stop me from touching her_," the blonde thought. "_Wait, she hasn't stopped me. It's not like she's ordered me not to touch her_."

No, true, Tatsu had not said anything in words, but as always, her body and her actions told most of the story. The mechanic hardly ever looked her in the eye anymore, especially when they were being intimate. Tatsu kept her eyes on her task, which usually involved some body part of Trin that was well below her head.

Whenever Trin initiated an intimate moment, Tatsu somehow—and quite rapidly—turned things around, so that she was in charge and she was touching Trin, making sure to keep the blonde unhinged enough for Trin to keep her hands to herself beyond pulling Tatsu to her for more. Sometimes, the shorter woman went as far as pinning Trin's hands above her head. At first, Trin thought this was just Tatsu trying out some old kinks, back from when they first met, but after it happened frequently, she knew something was wrong. She just could not figure out what was wrong.

"_The baggage of being with me might actually be getting to her. Is she hinting that she wants out? She doesn't want me touching her anymore. But, if she wants out, why did she agree to come live with me for the summer_?" Trin wondered. In fact, it had been Tatsu's idea!

----(Flashback)

"Baby, you know you didn't have to come all of this way to help the idiot-wonder pack," Trin told Tatsu as the mechanic entered the apartment. Tatsu shrugged, knowing she did not have to come, but she wanted to help get Shin out of the place as quickly as possible.

"I heard that!" Shin shouted from his room. They could hear him moving back and forth in the area.

"And I'm supposed to care?" Trin called to him while rolling her eyes.

"Shut the hell up and help me pack, shrew!"

Trin rolled her eyes again and motioned for Tatsu to go first. Tatsu sighed and shook her head while steeling herself to enter the wasteland that was known as Shin's room. Trin smiled at her.

"I cleaned it before you came over," Trin promised.

The mechanic exhaled thankfully and then marched into Shin's room. It was surprisingly clean, enough to make her pause and blink hard as she took everything in. She doubted that she had ever seen so much of his furniture and was shocked to find out that the floor was carpeted with a dark blue rug.

Shin was already wrecking the room like the force of nature that he was as he ripped through his closet and all of the drawers in his dresser. Suitcases lay open and waiting on his bed, but did appear to already be coughing up clothing. Blue eyes rolled when they noticed the suitcases.

"Help him pick out clothing that is practical for hot weather while I fold this stuff," Trin requested as she started straightening out his luggage.

"Warm like Florida?" Tatsu asked quietly while turning to the closet. She could not for the life of her remember where the hell Shin was spending his summer this year. It might have had something to do with the fact that she really did not care. She just wanted him out of the apartment and her blonde bombshell all to herself.

"Warm like Texas. He's going to be New Mexico for the summer," Trin reminded her love.

"Oh. Are you sure Booker will be able to stand him all summer?" Tatsu asked, quite seriously. She hoped that Booker did not send the crazy half-Japanese man back before she got all of her time in with Trin.

"It's not Booker I'm worried about. Can you imagine how Booker's mother is going to react to sharing a space with this one all summer?" Trin motioned to her friend, who was tearing through a drawer, spewing freshly washed tee-shirts all over the place. Trin's lip curled in fury, but her mouth did not voice her feelings.

"Hey, I'm damned fine company!" Shin declared and then it looked like he had an epiphany…or a stomachache; it was hard to tell with him. "I need my bathroom stuff!" He rushed out of the room to get his other travel supplies.

"Hard to believe he has to leave in less than two hours. If he got any more unorganized, he would come full circle and end up anal," Trin remarked and she did not bother to apologize for the pun. Tatsu missed it anyway because she had other things on her mind involving Shin's departure for the summer.

"Um…" Tatsu inched closer to her lover. "…Um…what're you gonna do while he's gone?" she asked shyly, glancing at her girlfriend and then at the floor.

Trin did not seem to think the question was so odd and continued folding clothes. "Me? I'm going to actually keep the apartment clean for three months and I do have classes to keep me busy. I'm also going to try to help Kim adjust to taking summer classes, not that I think she'll need much help."

"Oh." Tatsu sounded dejected, eyes remaining on the floor now, searching for something, but she was not sure what. "Yeah, you would have your clone around and Shego…"

"Baby, is something wrong?" Trin asked as she glanced up to see her girlfriend was eyeing the floor with a hard look of concentration in her ice-blue eyes.

"I was just thinking that you might get lonely here. I mean, three months by yourself is a long time…" Tatsu paused to push around an imaginary rock with her foot. She looked like such a shy little girl that her lover could not help smiling. She then continued. "…Um…Maybe I could…you know…stay with you…to make sure you don't get lonely."

"Baby, I would love for you to live here for the summer!" Trin threw her arms around her lover and placed a fiery kiss on Tatsu's mouth. They melted together like always and before Tatsu could pull away, Shin burst in.

"Dude, not in my room! This is my sanctuary!" Shin cried as if he was completely and utterly disgusted.

----(End Flashback)

"_Why would she want to live with me over the summer if she's getting bored with me? Well, maybe it's the living together thing that's bothering her. She's not used to seeing me every second of everyday. I'm not very entertaining either…"_ Trin thought. Most people would probably consider her downright dull when she was left to her own devices.

Tatsu had been living with her for couple of weeks and Trin was certain that she had not changed her habits to include her lover. She went about living with Tatsu how she lived with Shin…or so she thought anyway. She cooked breakfast in the morning, left for class, came home, curled up on the sofa with tea and a book, did homework, and then went to bed. It was routine. _It is wrong_.

"_Baby, I will make this up to you. I won't give you up without a fight_," the blonde silently vowed. She would make it a point to pay more attention to her lover, to show that she was pleased with the mechanic's presence.

Trin drifted to sleep thanks to the exhaustion of Tatsu's earlier efforts. In the morning, she woke up first as always; Tatsu would not rise until she smelled breakfast. Trin suspected that Tatsu went right back to sleep after breakfast now. Trin left for class right after breakfast when she did have school and Tatsu was not used to rising in the morning when she was back in Middleton.

The blonde put her glasses on before anything else and then made sure to turn the alarm off of her clock. She usually woke up before the thing went off, but always set it just in case. She looked down at her resting girlfriend to see that Tatsu was knocked out in the same spot that she had fallen asleep last night.

Trin was able to slide out of bed without waking her love. She then made her way to the bathroom for her morning shower. She undressed and then spent a long time looking at herself in the full-body mirror that hung on the wall in the bathroom. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"Same old me…mostly," Trin said to the air as her hands trailed to the most recent additions to her body, things that had been absent when she and Tatsu first started dating.

The first things her fingers traveled to where her gun shot wounds. The evidence that she was not invincible, immortal, or terribly lucky, even though she lived through it; to her, being shot in the first place proved all of those facts. Two small holes of wrinkled, rough skin marred what she used to think was her perfect physique.

Then there was her latest misadventure that happened a little over a month ago when she had gotten reacquainted with the man that helped create her by his teaming up with Shego's favorite former employer. Nothing was broken at the time…nothing bodily anyway; minds were another matter. There were still some scratches and marks dotting her body, though. She was not sure if they would ever go completely away, much like the mental scars.

"_The one thing about me that could have truly been perfect, gone. Reminders of how crazy my life or being around me can be. Why would she want to stay with me? I'm broken, shattered, so why?_" Trin shook her head. Just once, she wished that the damned air had an answer or two to help fix her life.

She let it go and went about her usual morning. She got dressed and was not surprised when she went into the dining room, Shego was sitting at the table and reading the paper, like she was at a café waiting for her meal to arrive. Kim was at the table too, cramming her English homework by reading a short story and trying to write what she believed the underlying message of the story was. By the look on the redhead's face, it was pretty clear that she had no damn clue what the story was about.

"Shego, what the hell?" Trin said while motioning to her little sister with a short sweep of her hand.

"What?" Shego grunted, knowing what the blonde's problem was immediately. "Don't try to blame that shit on me. Kimmie decided to go play hero last night. I went to bed thoroughly unsatisfied, I'll have you know."

"Mini-me," Trin scolded the redhead in a sharp, even tone.

"I know, I know! But, it was an emergency and I didn't think a little short story would be so hard to interpret!" Kim replied. She took a moment to bang her head lightly against the table.

Trin sighed, knowing that it would not help to reprimand her little sister anymore. She just went to start breakfast. The apartment was quiet for almost a half-hour. Trin served everyone when breakfast was done, giving Kim a plate of pancakes and a separate plate for her scrambled eggs; Kim hated getting syrup on her eggs. Tatsu's plate had six pancakes with eggs going all the way around the short stack; everything was covered in a generous amount of syrup. Shego's plate was similar to Tatsu's, except there was no syrup; Shego surprisingly hated the stuff. Trin's plate mirrored her little sisters; certain foods and condiments were never supposed to touch.

"Sis, don't forget that we have to pick up Joss tomorrow," Kim said while cutting her pancakes into eight perfect triangles.

"Joss?" Trin echoed and it was clear from the look on her face that she had indeed forgotten about their little cousin coming for a visit.

"We have to get her tomorrow. Her plane should come in at one. That should give us plenty of time," Kim reminded the blonde. Plenty of time for them to mentally prepare for Joss staying with them.

"Oh, right. When does that program of hers start again?" Trin inquired. Joss had gotten into a special summer program that allowed her to take college courses for college credits. _Of course, the program would have to be held by their university_, she thought; the universe had to love irony.

"Monday. Did you get the room ready for her?" the redhead countered. This caught the attention of Tatsu.

"Room?" the mechanic mumbled.

"Trin, you didn't tell Tatsu that Joss was going to stay here?" Kim asked incredulously. This was so unlike her big sister!

"Damn." Trin removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I had other things on my mind," she admitted, but she refused to say what those other things were. They mostly involved on waking up to find her lover gone forever and the fear and pain that spread through her every time she imagined that happening.

"Why's your cousin staying here? She doesn't like Trin much," Tatsu pointed out. Shego scoffed; _that was an understatement_.

"Well, Uncle Slim couldn't afford to put Joss up at the dorms while he's still having the ranch rebuilt after our little adventure there," Kim answered. About ten months ago, her uncle's house and property had been ruined by DNAmy, who was in search of a baby Bigfoot that had taken a strange liking to Tatsu.

"But, why here? Why not you?" Tatsu asked the redhead. She thought that Joss liked Kim more than Trin, but then again, that was not saying much considering how the cousins parted with their family in Montana.

"We don't have the room. Our spare room is a gym and a poor excuse for a study. Trin agreed to let Joss stay here because she knew Shin's room would be open," Kim explained. "Sis, I can't believe you forgot to tell Tatsu all of this."

Tatsu's eyes drifted down to her food, even though she was suddenly not as hungry as she had been a moment ago. Her stomach felt like it was now digesting itself as her mind tried to assure her that she had not been left out of the loop on purpose. It looked like her lover truly had forgotten all about these plans she made with her relatives. But, that did not explain why she had not been told about the plans when they had been made sometime ago, enough time for Trin to forget.

"I've just had a lot on my mind," Trin tried to defend herself. She knew it was not a good excuse and if someone offered it to her, she would call "bullshit" right to their face.

"Bullshit," Shego coughed, earning a glare from the blonde.

"Anyway, Trin, don't think you think you have something to say?" Kim pressed.

Trin sighed and turned to her girlfriend. "Baby, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you about Joss. I agreed to this before I knew you were going to stay here. If you don't want her here, I have no problem with paying for her to stay at the dorms."

Really, Trin was lying. She had a little problem with it because she knew that her uncle wanted Joss to stay with her and Kim. Slim wanted Joss to accept her cousins and also go back to viewing Kim like the hero she was. Slim was actually embarrassed that his daughter was pushing Kim away just because Kim was gay…well, gay and dating her former nemesis.

"It's your apartment," Tatsu mumbled worse than usual since her mouth was now full of pancakes. She needed something to keep her from talking, something that would keep people from saying anything to her.

"Baby, you're living here. If you don't want her here, I will pay to put her in a dorm," Trin insisted. Doing what her uncle wanted or upsetting her lover; there really was not a contest, especially not when she thought that the relationship was slowly slipping away.

"I don't mind. She can stay," Tatsu replied.

Shego was about to say something, but Kim glared at her, which kept the words at bay. Something was wrong, both Kim and Shego could tell. They wondered what it was and decided that they were going to try to find out…after breakfast.

--------------

Next time: Joss arrives and brings a storm with her.


	2. Full House

I don't own most of these characters; Disney does. I do own Trin and Tatsu.

2: Full House

"Okay, Tats, what the hell is your problem?" Shego inquired. She was lounging in Trin's apartment with Tatsu; their girlfriends had left to fetch their little cousin. She was lying on the couch, spread out like a lazy cat while Tatsu was sitting in the armchair nearby.

"Huh?" Tatsu answered without looking up for her magazine, which she was not really reading. She could not focus much on the words or even the pictures in one of her favorite auto magazines.

"Your problem. You and blondie seem to have hit a little patch. Well, not really little since I'm pretty sure that a blind beggar would be able to see it," the pale woman remarked, also not looking up from her magazine. She was skimming her magazine, much like she always did. Kim was shocked when she first found out that Shego rarely seriously read any of the magazines that she had. When Shego was seriously reading, she had thick books in her hands that she read pretty quickly.

Tatsu shrugged, which did not do much good since Shego was not looking. But, then, Shego showed that she knew the mechanic rather well after knowing each other for almost a year.

"Shrugging isn't going to work if I'm not looking, ass. Besides, you're lying when you shrug," the former villainess commented. "Now, tell me the truth. What the hell is going on with you two? Tired of being the poster couple for lesbians everywhere?"

"Poster couple?" Tatsu scoffed and rolled her eyes. Only one half of their couple was meant to be on a poster and she was damn sure that it was not her. She wondered when she was going to be dropped for a better half, as she was almost certain that such a thing would happen.

"You know what I mean. You two are like sickeningly sweet on each other without being obnoxious about it. You haven't been like that for a couple of weeks, though. Is it because you moved in? Not ready to live with your little blonde bombshell?" Shego inquired as if she was teasing, but there was too much truth to the statement to be a tease and they both knew that.

Tatsu chewed inside of her lip; a new nervous tick. She was pretty sure that she would suck at poker as she added her usual giveaway of running her hand through her hair. Shego sighed; _yeah, Tatsu would suck at poker_.

"What's wrong?" the green-skinned woman asked again, some concern sneaking into her voice. She could not help it since she had known Tatsu for so long and, hell, she liked Tatsu.

"Do you ever wonder why the hell Kim is with you?" Tatsu suddenly asked, tossing her magazine aside. Her eyes implored Shego for a response, which the former thief noticed as she glanced up from her magazine.

"Not usually, no. I'm damned sexy, after all. We don't really have the time of day for me to go into why I know I'm a fine catch. Is that what's wrong with you? You've been wondering why the hell blondie with you? If so, you are as stupid as most people assume."

There were several beats of silence until ice blue eyes glanced away. "I am…" the mechanic concurred. "I am as stupid as everyone thinks."

Shego did not seem to like that response…or her magazine was boring because she tossed the periodical at Tatsu. She nailed the mechanic right in the forehead. Tatsu snarled and shot Shego a dirty look.

"Don't try that, you idiot. People say mean shit all the time. Hell, I still accidentally do that with Kimmie and vise versa, but that doesn't mean it's true. You got an inferiority complex now? Please don't make me have to say something like 'get off the cross, we need the wood.' So, stop being an idiot," Shego snorted.

"Do you think I should move in with Trin?" Tatsu asked out of the blue. She seemed to be having a lot of random moments right now, but she did need answers and she did not know where to get them. Shego seemed to be as good a source as any other.

Shego blinked and then wondered where that question came from. She then thought that might explain the tension between the couple. It was possible that Tatsu was contemplating living with Trin and was not sure how to approach the subject or maybe Trin was hinting to Tatsu moving in and Tatsu did not know what she should answer.

"I don't know about that. It's your call. You move in with her, don't you have to get a job out here?" Shego asked.

Tatsu nodded. "I've thought about it. I closed my garage." She had neglected to mention that fact to her girlfriend. She was not sure how Trin would react to the news and she was too afraid to find out.

"For the summer? That makes sense since you're going to be here."

"No."

"For good?"

Tatsu nodded again. She had closed up the doors to her work and home forever to come stay with Trin for the summer. She had no clue what she was going to do when Shin came back and when the fall semester started. All she could think was that she screwed up.

"I'm trying…" Tatsu muttered and trailed off. She was not sure what she was attempting to say.

"You don't have to try too hard, Tats. You already got the girl and the girl adores the hell out of you. Anybody can see that. Be cool," Shego told the younger woman.

Tatsu nodded, but it was only to end the conversation. Lately, she did not feel like she "got the girl." She was sure that she did not deserve the girl, but she was trying. She was trying so hard, but still quite certain that she was screwing up. She was starting to feel sure that she was going to be single before the year was out.

--------------

"Trin, is everything all right between you and Tatsu?" Kim asked curiously. The sisters were in Trin's car, traveling to pick up their cousin. Trin was driving, more for a distraction than any other reason because she had no problem with letting Kim drive her car.

"Yes. Why would you ask that?" Trin countered in her usual bored tone, betraying nothing going on in her mind. Internally, she could not believe that her little sister figured out something was not right between her and Tatsu already. _Was it that obvious? How bad were things if it was so easy to tell that something was wrong?_

"I don't know. Lately, it just seems a little tense between you two. Maybe it's nothing. I mean, this is really your first time cohabitating with each other. Maybe I need to get used to seeing you live together or you two need to get used to living together," the redhead reasoned. For her, those were logical, but something told her that those were not it. Something was wrong between her sister and Tatsu and she could only hope that they worked it out soon. After all, Tatsu made her sister very happy and she wanted that to continue. Tatsu was very good for Trin.

"Sounds logical. It's probably a little of both," Trin replied. She hoped that things were coming from the fact that she and Tatsu needed to get used to living together, but she was certain that it was not that. Things were slightly tense before that, but now it was just getting unbearable.

The conversation was dropped in favor of talking about how classes were going. The summer session had just started and Trin wanted to make sure Kim was fine with the pace. Despite the fact that she often crammed, Kim explained that she was all right with everything and just had to figure out how to balance her hero work with her summer school work. Trin had no doubt that Kim would do it quickly.

They also spoke about how they thought Joss was going to do in the summer program. They both expressed pride that she was admitted to the program in the first place. The program was for the cream of the crop, not just nationally, but internationally. A student had to have exceptional grades through out her school career and also have a good balance of extracurricular activities.

"Joss must be getting some spanking grades," Kim commented.

"She's probably on the road of being valedictorian of her class to get into this program. I mean, she's pretty much going to be a college student for the summer and on the dime of one of the nation's finest institutions of higher learning," Trin added, sounding very close to impressed, even though she expected no less from a Possible.

"Not too much of a college student, right?" The redhead did not want Joss acting like the few students in school that seemed to think the campus was just a large club.

"Of course not, Mini-me. The program is highly monitored. It wouldn't look good for the school if the minors on campus had wild parties or spoke of getting drunk or worse while on campus."

Kim smiled. "Just making sure. I mean, Uncle Slim is trusting us with his only daughter. I don't want to let him down."

"We won't, Mini-me."

Kim nodded and took her sister's word on it, like she always did. Besides, she reminded herself, she could do anything, and her sister could do more! They were definitely going to be fine.

When they arrived at the airport, Trin waited in the car while Kim went in as far as she was allowed to with security in order to catch Joss as soon as possible. She checked the monitors to make sure Joss' flight got in on time and she found that it did. Barely a minute after she did that, her Kimmunicator went off.

"What's the sitch?" Kim answered the device.

"Hi, cousin. I'm picking up my luggage right now," Joss informed the older female.

"All right. I'm standing right around that area," the redhead answered. She started to crane her neck, looking for her cousin through out the throng of people. Usually, she would have just counted on Joss' keen eye to spot her and then scream for her, but she had a feeling that would not be happening today. Joss was not going to be enthusiastic to be in her company.

Kim sighed, thinking about how not too long ago, Joss would have basked in her presence. Now, it was not like she enjoyed any hero-worship coming her way; in fact, it really bothered her. It was just better than being hated for who she decided to love. She wondered if the way that she felt now was the way that Trin always felt in regards to their extended family. The burning in her bones and knots in her stomach, wishing that her so-called family would just accept her.

"Hey, cousin," Joss said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere since Kim had been lost in her own head for a moment.

Kim blinked hard as she registered that Joss was standing before her. She took her younger cousin in automatically, noting how the girl was standing almost a foot away and not trying to step any closer. Her stance was defensive, as if she was ready to show her fight-or-flight instincts. Kim mentally sighed.

_Why's she acting like this? Does she think I'm going to molest her? Yes, because we all know that incest and pedophilia are barely a step away after lesbianism_, Kim commented in her mind. She then threw on a bright (and fake) smile. "Come on, Joss. Trin's waiting and we can get you home and settled in."

"It's not home. I'm only staying there for the summer," Joss corrected with a snotty attitude.

The redheaded hero rolled her eyes and walked off after that. She did not even bother to check and see if Joss was following her or inquire if the teen had all of her bags. The gnawing feeling in her gut intensified and felt like her insides were being shredded by rabid dogs. She hoped that this was not how Trin always felt when it came to their family because she did not see how her big sister could live with the feeling for so many years.

Joss had to break into a jog to keep up with Kim. She pulled one suitcase and had a duffle-bag on her shoulder, which made it harder to keep up with Kim. She almost lost the redhead in the hustle of the airport.

"Kim, wait! You're going too fast and I don't know what Trin's car looks like!" Joss called out.

Kim was tempted to keep walking, but she did stop. Joss caught up and they walked in silence to the outside of the airport, finding Trin arguing with a security guard. Kim decided to hurry up to the car before Trin decided to "joke" about having a bomb or something else to tweak the guard. Before Trin could get into trouble, Kim was pushing her into the driver's seat and assuring the guard that they were leaving while Joss was getting into the backseat.

"Trin, are you trying to get arrested?" Kim inquired with a teasing smile as the blonde pulled off.

"I was bored," Trin answered as if that was an acceptable answer. "I see you picked up our cargo completely in tact." She glanced in the mirror to see that Joss was dialing a number on her cell phone.

"Yeah," Kim said with a sigh. She almost made a snap about Joss' attitude, but decided to leave it alone. She was not going to let Joss ruin her summer, she silently decided. That intense churning in her gut said otherwise, though.

The car ride was silent, except for Joss' phone call, which lasted too long in the sisters' opinions. It was fine when they could tell that Joss was speaking with her father. It was clear that he was offering her words of encouragement, for both the program and getting to know her cousins again. It was when her mother got on the phone that things became annoying.

"No, Mom, I'm not going to let them touch me…" Joss said, apparently not caring enough to lower her voice, even though Trin and Kim knew exactly who she was referring to. "…Yes, Mom, I'll be sure to lock the door at night. I'm not stupid—Ow!"

Joss suddenly slammed into the back of Kim's chair as the car came to hard, sudden halt. Trin dared to look innocent as Joss glared at her while righting herself in her seat and Kim threw a scolding stare her way. Trin shrugged.

"There was a bird," the blonde lied, motioning slightly to the outside where the road was clear.

"If you flip the car, I'll show you a bird all right," Kim replied, trying to hold in snickers and failing horribly. She shook her fist for just a moment, which got a slight smile of amusement out of her sister.

"I see living with Shego is doing something to your bantering skills. That was witty and profane," Trin teased.

"No, it was clever and witty. You took it in a profane way. So, where's your head at, dear sister?" the olive-eyed hero countered with an innocent grin. The sisters occupied themselves by going back and forth while Joss went back to speaking and complaining to her mother.

--------------

"So, you think they'll make it back from the airport, or just dump Joss off in a lake on the way?" Shego asked to break the silence that reigned over the apartment.

"Wishing out loud?" Tatsu countered. She would not mind the latter, though. She was not sure she was up to dealing with someone that was obvious with her dislike of Trin.

"I don't really want her around. She's just going to upset Kimmie. You should know what I mean. She's just going to piss off blondie too," the older woman pointed out.

Tatsu shrugged. "They agreed…"

Shego turned her mouth up. "That they did and so did we." Well, technically, she was bribed, but she was proud that Kim could even do that, so she accepted that Joss would cramp their style for the summer.

Tatsu did not say anything. She agreed…yesterday. Shego probably agreed the day the deal was being hashed out. Was she slowly being phased out? She ran her hand through her wild hair and tugged on the ends. Shego noticed, but she did not say anything. _Yeah, Tatsu would suck at poker._

The sound of the key in the door got their attention. They noted that there were voices, one with a distinct accent. So, apparently, the sisters had not decided to just throw their cousin in a lake on the way home. _Well, there's always tomorrow_.

"I don't see why I have to stay here," Joss huffed as the Possibles entered the apartment.

"We've gone over this, Joss. This is the only place with space for you and Trin would love your company," Kim replied with a nervous smile.

_God, Pumpkin, your lying needs serious work_, Shego thought as she caught sight of her lover and the expression that she was tossing Joss.

"Yeah, I'm sure Trin would," Joss said snidely and the undercurrent of that line did not miss the sisters' ears. Even if it did, the disgusted, accusing glare that accompanied it was so blatant that a blind man would have seen it.

"If I were you, I would worry about the lock-picking lesbian on the couch more than the blonde lesbian that's your cousin," Trin remarked as she shut the door behind them, not caring that Joss was barely inside.

Shego pepped up, sensing a game afoot. "Are you hinting that there's something in her suitcase worth stealing?" A cruel smile curled onto her face.

"More like something inside of her that she thinks is worth stealing," Trin commented while rolling her eyes.

Shego was pretty sure that she knew what her blonde nemesis was referring to. "Doesn't sound too valuable to me, but I'm sure I could hock it for a couple of bucks."

Joss bristled and gulped. Kim stepped in immediately. "Shego, cut it out! Trin, stop encouraging her…and, Shego, stop encouraging Trin!" Sometimes, she thought that her girlfriend and her sister really did need to be enemies because they did worse things when they were getting along than when they were at each other's throats. They were supposed to be mature adults, but there they were being amused with frightening a fourteen-year-old girl.

"Hey, when she's throwing 'em that easy, I gotta knock 'em out of the park," Shego said, smirking up a storm.

"Anyway, Joss, I'll show you the room you're going to stay in and I'll give you the grand tour of the apartment," Kim said. She was about to grab her cousin's hand when she saw Joss flinch and step away. She bit back a frown, cutting the inside of her lip while she was at it. "Come on, this way," the redhead said while motioning off to the left with a tense wave of her hand.

"Brat," Shego spat when the cousins were out of earshot.

"Two months of her and all my school work. Baby, kill me now," Trin requested as she flopped down in the armchair with Tatsu.

The mechanic only shook her head and grabbed onto Trin. They both sighed and rested against each other, both trying to commit the feeling to the memory of each and every cell that they had. They closed their eyes and hoped that things would stay this way, at least for a little while.

--------------

"This is _his_ room, isn't it?" Joss sneered as she looked around the clean room full of dark wooden furniture. There were a few posters on the wall of good looking men. There were several items with Japanese writing on them around the place that Joss could not read.

"Yeah, this is Shin's room. Trin cleaned it up pretty good for you. The linens and everything are clean. I'm actually shocked she didn't buy a brand new mattress for you," Kim answered, forcing out a bright smile. She was fairly certain that if she continued smiling as she was, she would split her cheeks open…that or the tension she was feeling would completely shatter her bones.

Joss sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "There are probably all kinds of sick things in this room with the way he acts. Wish I coulda just stayed in a dorm."

Kim growled, not liking that her sister's effort was not appreciated. "Listen, Joss, you're going to be here all summer, so if I were you, I'd cut out this little pity party you're throwing."

"I ain't throwing nothing. I wanted to stay in a dorm, but Daddy couldn't afford it since you and your fake-sister messed up the ranch!" Joss countered.

"Slap her, Kimmie!" Shego called, letting the cousins know that everyone could hear the little argument.

Kim trembled, wanting nothing more than to take Shego's advice, but she did not. The fact that Shego suggested the slap let her know that was not the way to go. Besides, she was afraid that she might not be able to stop once she started hitting her cousin. Instead, she stormed off, leaving Joss to the silence and the chocolate smell that coated Shin's bedroom.

"I can't believe her!" Kim screamed as she flopped down on the couch next to Shego. "You'd think she'd show a little bit of gratitude! Instead, she's accused us indirectly of being perverts, acting like we're going to molest her, and looking down her nose at us! I don't think I can take this for the whole summer."

"Princess, you should just ignore her, like blondie." Shego motioned to Trin.

Looking at the blonde, no one would guess that she heard anything between Kim and Joss. She was leaning against Tatsu and smiling like the cat that got the cream. Kim sighed and leaned into Shego.

"Trin's got this ignoring thing down," Kim muttered.

"Well, maybe it's time for you to take some lessons, so you don't end up as the Heartbreak Kid. You know this is Joss' problem to deal with, not yours. There's nothing wrong with you, but there is something wrong with her. You can either work to change her mind while she's here or you can ignore her. Either way, you shouldn't take her shit to heart when she's the one that's fucked up," Shego informed her lover.

"Wow, Shego, that might be the most insightful thing I ever heard come out of that filthy mouth of yours," Trin remarked.

"You know what, I'll tell you some other things that come with my mouth if you don't shut the fuck up and let me have my moment," the former villainess countered with a grin.

"Carry on," the blonde replied and focused her attention back on her girlfriend. She could not help wondering if Joss' presence was going to make things worse. Joss might even push Tatsu into going back to Middleton if her attitude persisted, Trin thought. Her stomach sank; she should have said "no" to her uncle, she now knew that.

--------------

Next time: Joss is kept awake by sounds in the night and then ladies all have breakfast together where Joss gets a few shocks.


	3. The average morning

I don't own these characters; Disney does. I do own Trin and Tatsu.

3: The average morning

The night was silent until the start of a prayer came; it came in the form of a whimper. Tatsu smiled softly to herself when she heard the small noise escape her lover. She shivered as if the whimper went from Trin into her, touching the core of her soul, and completing her. She never wanted anyone like she wanted Trin and doubted that she ever would.

"_So, I need to make every moment count…_" Tatsu thought as her hand went on a familiar mission. A mission that she would never tire of, a mission that she would like to take every night for the rest of her life, a mission that she silently vowed to always do to the best of her ability.

A tanned hand found its favorite companion underneath the pink tank-top that Trin was wearing. Trin pushed herself into the probing hand while tilting her head as she felt an adoring tongue on her neck. Trin's chest began to rise and fall at a rapid pace, which caused the lips against her neck to smile more; panting was always a sign of what was to come next.

The pink tank-top was quickly discarded and violently flung to the floor, feeling Tatsu's wrath for blocking her from her lover. As soon as that irksome piece of cloth was out of the way, Tatsu attached herself to an inviting pink pearl that seemed to call out for her. Trin's back arched like a taut bow, begging for more.

"Oh, god!"

Tatsu was about to grin like the cat that got the cream, but then she felt the body underneath her tense. The mechanic did not know what to make of that because it never happened before. For the first time, Trin actually heard her words. Shocked, she shot up from the bed and gently shoved Tatsu from her. The mechanic's face fell so far it was amazing that her jaw did not end up on the floor beneath them.

"Wait, baby, we can't," Trin said while trying to catch her breath. Her body was burning for her love, but her conscience would not let her give in.

"We can't?" Tatsu echoed in the most baffled voice. Ice blue eyes were laced with confusion, hurt, and mounting fear. Her heart flew into a panic; _dear God, am I so useless now that I could not even please my blonde bombshell?! Oh, god, why would she want me around then?! She's not going to want me at this rate!_

"No, baby, we can't. We have company and you know how loud I am," Trin pointed out. She knew that she carried well over to Shin's room too considering how many morning she woke up to him quoting just what the hell she said while being intimate.

"Company?" Tatsu could not believe it; they were stopping for Joss?! Joss, who had been a bratty, pain-in-the-ass since she arrived?! _No, it can't be that_, Tatsu thought.

The mechanic was seized by the realization that Trin was using Joss as an excuse. After all, Trin did not really care about her cousin, having said as much more than once that day alone. She was just using Joss as a way to get out of making love. With that thought, Tatsu's stomach sank into her feet and she had to fight back the urge to throw up right then and there.

_She doesn't wanna make love? She doesn't want me to touch her? Was she faking all those other nights since I've been here? Probably. I was just too stupid to notice. I can't protect her. I can't provide for her. Fuck, I can't even pleasure her_, Tatsu silently lamented.

"Baby?" Trin placed her hands on Tatsu's broad shoulders, shaking her a little.

Tatsu blinked hard and faced her girlfriend. "Huh?"

"Look, I'm loud, but you're not. So, how about I take care of you tonight?" Trin was already lifting off Tatsu's black sports' bra. The blonde's mouth watered and her hands itched in anticipation, the thought of touching her love once more was almost too much for her mind to comprehend.

"Huh?" Tatsu did not realize what was going on until her bra was keeping Trin's tank-top company. She then tenderly grabbed Trin's wrists to keep the blonde from going any further.

"Baby?" Trin asked, swallowing down the hurt in her throat. God, did Tatsu still not want to be touched? _Am I so repulsive? Does the idea of me touching her turn her off so much? What am I going to do?_

"It's okay. Let's just go to sleep," Tatsu replied in a low tone. The last thing she wanted to do was take anything more from Trin. She needed to stop taking and start giving if she was going to keep her love, she told herself.

"You want to go sleep?" the blonde asked in a puzzled voice. Hardly a minute ago Tatsu had been set to devour her and now she just wanted to sleep? _What the hell?!_

"Yeah. I wanna hold you…" the mechanic admitted. She wanted to show that she could be there for Trin without needing anything that seemed excessive. She could be there and offer something, even if it was just a pair of arms…arms that she was starting to believe to be useless since they could not protect her lover.

The blonde could not speak; she could not trust her voice. She just nodded her consent and laid back down. Tatsu joined her and wrapped her arms around the lithe, pale body of her love. It felt different to both of them, but neither of them said anything. They tried their best to fall asleep, but they were plagued by doubts and thoughts that they wished would just go away.

--------------

Joss lay on the bed, wide awake and staring at the ceiling. Her heart was finally calming down after hearing a close scream that sounded very much like someone calling out to God. Her eyes had peered at the door, which was locked with a few things piled against it, for a long minute before she had fallen back against her pillow to now watch her ceiling.

She did not know what to expect staying with Trin. At least if she had been able to stay with Kim, she would have known that nothing would happen to her. Sure, Kim was queer, but deep down, she knew that Kim was still Kim. The same could not be said with Trin because she really had no clue who Trin was. Well, no, she had some clue.

Her Mama told her all about Trin. The blonde was adopted and more than likely the offspring of crazed drug addicts; her mother claimed to know this from health issues that Trin had when she was younger. James used to call Slim all the time to update Slim as to what was going on with his favorite blonde niece and Slim would share the news, not realizing at first that his family did not share his sentiments about Trin. According to her Mama, Trin was practically an addict herself.

Then there were the tales of Trin being wild and evil. She had seen the wild part in Shin and figured that if Trin hung out with someone as wild as the insane half-Japanese boy then she had to be wild too. The evil part was not a stretch because it seemed like looking into her eyes gave a good view of Hell. Her cold demeanor and condescending attitude also pushed the notion that she had to be evil.

Adding to Joss' perceived problems, not only did she have to worry about the blonde Possible, but there was also Tatsu, whom she knew absolutely nothing about. At least with Trin, she could assure herself that the blonde would not hurt her because Kim trusted Trin, her father trusted Trin, and her Uncle James trusted Trin. So, there might be something to Trin that she could not see, but was there for so many smart people to trust her. But, Tatsu was an unknown element with no real ties to the family other than the fact that she was Trin's gay lover. Joss did not like the look of the stranger or the few facts that she knew about the mechanic.

Tatsu was a high-school dropout, an idiot as far as Joss was concerned; after all, Possibles never dropped out of high school. In fact, as far as Joss knew, only lowlifes and morons—in her opinion—dropped out of school. She figured that Tatsu fell into both of those categories.

Tatsu just had a rough, gang-member-type look to her; if asked to describe that look, Joss would not really be sure where to start. There was just something about Tatsu that made Joss swear the mechanic was from the streets and from the very wrong side of the tracks. She would not be surprised if Tatsu was wanted by the police for any number of crimes. She was willing to bet that the mechanic had a rap sheet a mile long.

Even the way that Tatsu spoke, the whispered mumble that sometimes needed translating, indicated low intelligence and poor education, and those things equaled danger in Joss' mind. Something just was not right with Tatsu and Joss really did not want to find out what it was.

For all she knew, Tatsu would sneak in sometime at night and do just about anything. She did not know what to expect from "that sort of person." She was not totally sure what she meant by that phrase, but she just did not trust Tatsu because she did not know what to expect of the woman with a frightening aura, a woman that just gave off bad vibes in Joss' opinion.

Eventually, youthful eyes closed from plain exhaustion and excitement from the day. Despite everything that happened, Joss was very eager about her trip. She could not wait to start her summer program and had thought about it for not only the whole plane right, but the whole week prior. All of her energy was spent long before she arrived, but she got a charge from the anxiety that coursed through her from being around her cousins and their girlfriends.

The thing that caused the young body to stir was a delightful smell in the air. Without permission from the brain, the body rose and stumbled to the door. Only when she was at the door did Joss realize that she was awake and that she was hungry; she had not eaten since yesterday morning. She had to move a stack of random items out of the way in order to get out of the room.

She wandered out into the living room, scratching her head and causing her auburn hair to go off in even wilder directions. Her pajamas clung to her, but showed that she was actually wearing layers of clothing. She had on three different layers of pajamas, despite the summer heat.

Joss was knocked out of her morning haze when she entered the dining room and her eyes went wide. The sight of Shego reading the morning paper greeted her and she was not sure what to make of it. What should she do? _Say "good morning" or retreat back into the room?_ She did not get a chance to make the decision when two pair of green eyes locked on with hers.

"Good morning, Joss," Kim greeted her cousin. She was sitting next to Shego, as she did every morning. "Have a seat." The redhead motioned to the chair that would put Joss opposite of Shego.

Joss gulped, but she did as she was told. Shego did not say anything to her and went back to reading her paper; she had already decided that she was just going to ignore the annoying Montana native for the summer. Kim sighed, but she did not break eye contact with her cousin. She forced out a smile for the younger Possible and then decided to try to start a conversation.

"Um…Joss, how do you like your omelets?" the redhead inquired. Breakfast seemed like a safe enough topic, she thought.

"Why?" Joss countered defensively, thinking that Kim was using some kind of "queer code" on her.

"That's what Trin's making for breakfast. She'll make it special for you if she knows what you like," Kim explained while trying to keep her temper even. She reminded herself that her cousin had misconceptions about lesbians and she just needed to be patient with her. It did not help that she needed Joss to get comfortable about the reformed villainess Shego and that Tatsu was a complete stranger to the young teen. She did not even bother considering the problems that Joss had with Trin. It was going to be a long summer.

"Like Hell she will!" Shego snorted from behind the paper. She glanced into the kitchen where Trin was at the stove, not even bothering to look in on the conversation.

"Trin cooks?" Joss muttered in disbelief. She wanted to turn around and see, but she wanted to keep an eye on Shego, just in case the green-skinned woman tried something. Still, the temptation was too great because as far as she knew Trin was the very definition of lazy and did not know anything about being a kitchen.

The young teen could not help herself and got up to go see for herself if it was her blonde cousin in the kitchen. Dark green eyes looked like they were ready to roll around on the floor as they caught sight of Trin working the stove as if it was a canvas and she was a master painter.

"Since when do you cook?" Joss demanded to know, sounding angry and amazed at the same time. She had never seen Trin in the kitchen, let alone cooking before. Trin did not even do the dishes when she visited the Lazy C ranch!

"Since I don't like to starve to death," the blonde retorted with a snort. Her voice was as bland as always and she kept her eyes on her pan rather than sparing her cousin a glance.

"Trin, be nice," Kim called to her sister, hoping that Trin remembered they were supposed to be bonding with their younger cousin.

An aggravated exhale came from the pale blonde. She gritted her teeth together and had to get her mind set for the next thing to come out of her mouth. "Joss, what would you like in your omelet?"

Shego almost fell out of her chair, but caught herself. She started looking over her paper, wanting to see if Kim was glaring at Trin or something. _Maybe Kim is using witchcraft to get the impossible Possible to try being likeable so quickly_. It did not look like Kim was doing any magic, but that was really the only way to explain why Trin gave in without even an annoyed word.

"Joss, omelet?" Trin grunted when an answer was not given to her immediately.

"Oh!" Joss squeaked as her brain managed to turn back on. "Um…cheese is good."

"What kind?" Trin pressed.

"Cheddar…I guess."

Trin nodded to show that she got the order and she was thankful that Joss went to sit back down. The auburn-haired teen scanned as much of the apartment as she could see while she was sitting at the table. She did not have anything better to do and Kim was now too wrapped up in school work to try starting conversation.

Joss had never been to Trin's home before and she silently admitted that it was nothing like she thought it would be. She was not sure what she expected; maybe rabid dogs, a moat, bloodied weapons, illegal substances, female sex-slaves chained to the walls crying to go home, and dead animals just lying about the floor. Or the reverse side, a sterile, white room, like a sanitarium. To Joss, those things would have fit what she knew about her blonde cousin, but the apartment was nothing like that.

In fact, Joss thought that the place seemed pretty homey. It was almost warm and near comforting…something that she never associated with her cousin or her cousin's "queer boyfriend." She dared to consider that they had somehow stolen the apartment. It just could not possibly to be their home.

"_They probably killed and ate the owners_…" Joss thought. And when she spotted the game console in the living room, she amended that thought. "_And the owners' kids_."

Joss' was knocked out of her thoughts as Tatsu came out of nowhere. Tatsu flopped down with a soft grunt into the chair that was closest to Joss. The mechanic did not even take notice of Joss, but the young teen was sitting up straight as a rod and watching Tatsu as if she expected the mechanic to pull a gun on her.

"You look like someone that didn't have sex last night," Shego commented as she peered over her paper to see Tatsu staring at the table, like she was waiting for it to solve the world's problems.

Tatsu grunted, but Trin came to her lover's defense. "You're an expert on that look, aren't you, Shego?" the blonde remarked.

"Fuck you, blondie!" the green-skinned woman barked, shaking her fist in the direction of the kitchen, as if that was going to scare Trin.

"I wouldn't want to be the one to remove that look you love so much," Trin continued, smiling ever so slightly as she watched the omelet in her pan.

"That's what I got your little sister for," Shego had the nerve to say and dared to stick her tongue out at Trin.

"What was that?!" Trin demanded as she picked up a nearby knife.

Joss gulped when she saw the blonde going for the weapon and wondered if the two pale women were going to slaughter the lot of them. She tried not to think of what they might do to her dead body, but terrifying images floated through her mind. All the color drained from her face.

"I said you little sister—" Shego was cut off as she was hit in the head with an orange from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table. Knowing who the culprit was, Shego immediately turned to her traitorous girlfriend. "Whose side are you on?!"

"Mine! The side that doesn't want my sister to have an aneurism while cooking breakfast and the side that would like to see my girlfriend live to see another day," Kim replied and she picked up some more ammunition. "And if you have anything to say against it, this means war." She spun the orange in her palm.

Shego, picking her battles wisely, decided to go back to her paper. Kim went back to work and Tatsu continued looking miserable. Joss was on edge for almost a minute before she realized that it was over. Shego and Trin were not going to fight to the death and no one was going to die before breakfast was served. Kim had saved the morning, the young teen thought.

Before Joss could try to make heads or tails of what happened, Trin served everyone. Dark green eyes blinked as a cheddar-cheese omelet was placed in front of her. It was sliced, ready to be eaten by the forkful, and looking exactly how an omelet should; it was like the perfect omelet. _Trin just served the perfect omelet? What the heck?_

Joss stared at the food for a moment, completely shocked and amazed. She then considered that it probably did not taste very good. She was willing to bet that Trin was a horrible cook, just like she was a horrible person. Her thoughts were interrupted by Shego's voice.

"Hey, you didn't put those little fucking whatever-the-hell-they-are in here, did you?" Shego demanded as she looked down at her food.

"You know what, Shego, when you start cooking, you can add whatever the hell you want to anything or leave out whatever the hell you want. Until that moment, though, shut the hell about things. Be happy I didn't put cyanide or strychnine in it," the blonde countered.

At the naming of deadly poisons, Joss gulped and stared down at her food with more intensity than ever before. Were there any poisons laced in her food? She figured why not since Trin was a monster. Maybe Trin would poison the food. Sure, not enough to kill her, as they would be hard to explain to her father, but enough to make her seriously ill. The thought caused her stomach to drop into her feet and she turned a little green, but no one noticed.

"You didn't put those in it? You must be going soft," Shego teased with half-smirk on her face. "You keep this up and I might get the feeling you like me."

"The hell I do. Just because I didn't put those in it doesn't mean I didn't put a little something extra in your complicated little omelet," Trin remarked with a glint in her eyes that did make Shego pause in the middle of a bite.

"Don't make me have to ruin the Possible family by killing the eldest child because she plays too much," the former villain commented while pointing her fork at the blonde.

Trin rolled her eyes as she took her seat, next to Tatsu. The mechanic was eating quietly, not paying anyone any mind. She glanced to the side when she felt Trin's eyes on her. She glanced over and wondered why her lover was watching her so intently.

"Um…it's good," Tatsu offered, thinking that Trin might be curious as to what she thought of the food, especially since it seemed to be something new. Usually, she had a plain cheese omelet, but today, Trin had given her something with cheese, tomatoes, and things that she barely recognized. It was very tasty, though.

"I'm glad," Trin said with a smile.

Shego and Kim watched the scene, but they did not comment. They did glance at each other. Shego shrugged; it was not her problem. Kim glared at her lover because of the move. Shego decided not to press her luck and just dug into her food, while making sure to watch out for anything suspicious since Trin was not below putting something in her food to mess with her.

Joss was surprised that despite all of the posturing and barking, breakfast was relatively normal. Shego and Trin went back and forth, but nothing progressed further than words and pointing silverware. They were also quickly silenced by Kim if one of them seemed like they were going too far. The young teen could hardly believe her eyes.

"_I woulda thought that Trin would hurt anybody for saying less than the things Shego said to her_," Joss thought as she absently began to eat her food. Everything was so extra-ordinary that she forgot that she was worried about the food in the first place.

When the flavor of the omelet reached Joss' brain, she stopped and realized what she was doing. She paused for a moment, waiting to feel faint or ill, but found nothing but delicious cheese and eggs. She bravely went in for another bite.

"_Wow, Trin actually cooks really good_," Joss's mind commented without her permission.

Kim smiled when she noticed her cousin going to town on the omelet. She turned her eyes to Trin, who shrugged indifferently. After all, Kim was the optimistic one and Trin knew that it would take a lot more than an omelet to turn an opinion. Besides, Trin had other things on her mind beyond their cousin.

--------------

Next time: Kim tries to help Joss out, but Joss is not willing to accept it. Shego has a talk with Tatsu about her behavior of late.


	4. The knownothings

I don't own these characters; Disney does. Well, actually, Trin and Tatsu are my characters, but the rest of them are Disney's.

4: The know-nothings

With breakfast done, everyone cleared away their dishes, putting them in the sink for someone to get later on. Before Joss could escape back into Shin's room, Kim halted her by trying to start a friendly conversation. Everyone else pretended to go about their business, their business not having them stray too far from the dining room, just in case.

"Joss, you have orientation today, right?" Kim asked, even though she knew the answer to that.

"Yeah," Joss answered, sounding more like her response was a question than anything else. Her eyes seemed to ask why the hell her cousin was bothering her and her body language, leaning away from the hero, showed that she was ready to bolt for her room.

"I'll drive you. I have to go to the school anyway," the redhead offered with a smile.

Despite the fact that it had been a relatively normal morning, Joss still looked apprehensive. She leaned back a little more, as if she was going to run off at that very moment, and stared at her shoes. The elder cousin could not help sighing because she could see the answer coming a mile away.

"I'd rather just walk myself," Joss replied with a forced smile.

Kim sighed again. She thought that they—meaning she, Shego, Trin, and Tatsu—showed that they were decent people so far. Sure, the latter three had been standoffish, but that was how they always were. No one had made an attempt to molest Joss, no one had behaved inappropriately in front of Joss, and as far as Kim knew Joss did not hear anything inappropriate since Tatsu and Trin did not seem to get intimate last night. So, Kim could not figure out why Joss was acting like they were going to drink her blood any second.

Trin decided to jump in before her little sister frustrated herself to the point of madness. "Joss, the campus is huge, as is the city. You'll get lost by yourself trying to get there and being there if you ever make it. Let Kim take you since she has to go up there anyway," the blonde ordered. She did not have to worry about class since it was the weekend, but she did have things that she needed to get to.

"I can go by myself. I need to learn the city and the campus anyway," the auburn-haired girl argued.

"You can learn it with a guide. Kim is going to take you," Trin stated, like her word was law.

"What do you care if I get lost?" Joss huffed.

"At this point, I don't give much of a damn about you getting lost," Trin started and there was more to her rebuttal, but Kim cut in.

"Ah! What Trin means to say is that she cares about you, but not the way you're acting right now!" the hero chimed in, trying to save the day as usual.

"What I meant to say was that if Kim is bothering to take time out of her life to show you around, you're being foolish and pigheaded to pass it up. My reason for saying anything, though, is because I don't want you to give Kim a hard time for trying to be nice and reasonable with you, not that you've done anything to deserve it," Trin commented in her usual manner.

Joss scowled at her eldest cousin and tried glaring at her. The blonde rolled her eyes and went about her business, not feeling that the youngster was even worth her glare. Joss' forehead wrinkled with anger and she continued glaring at Trin's back.

"Joss, just let me take you. I can show you around before I have to go talk with one of my professors," Kim argued. She was on the verge of pleading because the campus was huge like her sister said, as was the city, but there were also parts of the city that were just plain bad and she wanted to make sure Joss stayed away from those parts.

"Why do you need to see a professor?" Trin inquired, interest in the conversation back as she turned to eye her little sister.

Kim grinned nervously. "Um…well…I…"

"Hero business. Ducked out of class and missed a quiz," Shego rattled off her girlfriend's offensives with a delighted smile on her face. "Get her, Trin."

"Damn it, Kimmie! We've talked about how condensed these summer courses are. You can't just leave and miss a quiz for something," the blonde scholar pointed out.

"I know, but it was important. I'll never do it again. I know how much my education is worth," Kim promised. She also knew that Trin and Shego would pester her to death if she messed up in school.

Once again, Joss found herself not sure what to make of the scene in the apartment; it had happened quite a few times that morning. Her first instinct was to defend Kim. Kim had missed school to save the world, which was more than noble in her opinion. But, those words died on her tongue, not because she did not like Kim anymore, but because she knew why Trin was angry. Trin was upset with Kim treating her education so lightly, which Joss thought was a good point. But, she could not bring herself to side with Trin, not someone that she was so sure was evil and she could not bring herself to defend to Kim since she thought that there was something wrong with her since Kim was "queer." In the end, her mind could not figure out what to do and that was why she remained silent.

"It better not happen again. You can't waste time in the summer like you can in regular classes, Mini-me. Or at least find out about all of the work in advance, get it done, and then run off to save the world," Trin advised her sister. She told Kim that at the beginning of the summer, but she supposed it needed repeating if Kim missed a quiz.

"I know. I did all of that. I just had to leave at the time of the quiz because it was an emergency. I won't do it again unless it's an emergency. Besides, the professor let me know that if I explained myself, I could take a makeup. I have my bases covered, sis," Kim assured the older Possible. She tossed Trin a smile too, just to show there were no hard feelings, even though Trin was being her usual overprotective self.

"All right, all right," the blonde dismissed the issue, waving it off.

Kim turned her attention back to Joss. "So, anyway, like I was saying, I have to go to campus anyway. Let me take you and show you around a little bit."

It took Joss a moment to realize that her cousin was speaking to her. As soon as she did realize it, her disagreeable disposition snapped back into place. Forest green eyes hardened as they locked onto Kim.

"I can go by myself," Joss huffed, holding her chin up high in defiance. There was no way in Hell she was going to ride alone in a car with a social deviant. Anything could happen, after all!

"Just let the little brat go by herself, so she can miss the whole thing and get kicked out of the program already. We'll all chip in to buy her a nice bus ticket back to Montana," Shego remarked with a cruel smile. "This way we can get back to our Satan worshipping orgies."

"Shego!" Kim hollered while pulling at her own hair. Her young cousin flinched and it as clear from her expression that she believed the former thief.

"I'll be fine on my own," Joss grunted and fled to her room to retrieve her book-bag. There was no way that she was going to be trapped in a car with someone that participated in an orgy!

"Shego, why would you do that?" Kim demanded to know, even though she could guess the reasoning behind it.

"I don't like her," Shego offered bluntly. "I don't like the way she's acting or the way she's treating you. Until she gets her act together, I'm going to be as bitchy as possible to her. Honest enough for you, cupcake?"

Kim rolled eyes and decided not to argue because she knew that it would only get her into a fight with her girlfriend. They did not say anything when Joss walked out of the apartment with her book-bag on her shoulders. Only one set of eyes watched the door as it opened and closed, getting Joss out of their lives for at least half of the day.

"You know, you'd think she'd want her set of keys," Trin commented and Shego burst out laughing.

"That's not funny!" Kim huffed.

Trin and Shego did not comment as Kim grabbed the keys off of the coffee table that were meant for Joss. She then grabbed her own bag and trotted out of the apartment. Green and blue eyes rolled.

"So, you want to take a bet as to which one of us kills Joss first?" Shego proposed with a grin that would make the Cheshire cat look sane. Trin shrugged.

--------------

Kim trotted down to the Trin's car and hopped behind the driver's seat. She could see Joss down the street already and she decided that she would try once more to give the younger teen a ride. She hoped that Joss was more practical than stubborn, or else she was going to make a poor impression on her first day.

"Joss, come on, get in!" Kim called as she rolled down the window for the auburn-haired girl to hear her.

Joss ignored her and kept walking while looking straight ahead of her. Kim sighed and actually had to count in her head to keep herself from saying something mean. She was not sure why her patience was so short with Joss, but she suspected it had something to do with the fact that Joss was her family, someone who knew her well, yet was treating her like a criminal just because she loved a woman.

"Joss, come on. You won't make it to the school in time if you walk," Kim warned the girl.

"I'm going to take the bus," Joss answered in a clipped tone as she got to the bus stop.

Kim scoffed. "You're going to take a bus on a weekend around here? You'll be lucky if you get to school by Monday if that's the case."

"I'm going to take the bus," Joss repeated and she stayed right where she was standing.

A vein throbbed in Kim's neck and she decided to fight the battle in another manner. She drove off, leaving Joss to her own devices…or so it seemed. Twenty minutes later, the car came back around and Joss was still standing there, shoulders slumped and head down. The tanned face did pop up when she heard a horn honk.

"Think you could use a ride now?" Kim inquired and her cousin was quiet. "I'm not going to come back around a third time, Joss. I have an appointment myself and I won't miss it because you want to throw a temper tantrum or hold irrational grudges. So, you're either going to get in now or you're never going to get school."

Joss chewed on the inside of her cheek. Based on what she studied from the city transit schedule and the information from the school website, she would never make it in time, even if the bus came that very second. That made her decision; she got into the car, looking as if she was being forced into the automobile.

The ride to the school was quiet with Joss staring out of the window, making an effort not to look at her cousin. Kim focused on the road and argued with herself on whether or not if she should try starting a conversation. In the end, she decided not to. She was tired already of making all of the effort and being met with undeserved hostility. Kim now believed that Shego was right; it was Joss' deal, so Joss was the one that should have to reach out at some point.

The redhead parked the car in one of the school's many parking lots and the cousins piled out. For just a moment, Kim was going to let Joss walk off. She had a question to ask, though.

"What building do you have to go to?" the redheaded hero asked.

"I'll find it myself," Joss grunted. _I don't need the help of some deviant! I don't need help from any of them!_

Kim snorted and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The redhead then charged off, not wanting to be later than Joss had already made her, even though she called her professor earlier and told him that she would be late. The younger teen was just going to be on her own for now. Joss rolled her eyes and marched off, determined to fend for herself. The last thing that she wanted was to be indebted to her cousins.

"Freaks and queers," Joss huffed to herself.

--------------

"You know, you've been fumbling the ball a lot," Shego commented as she stretched out on the sofa in Trin's apartment. She was speaking to Tatsu as they had been left alone to "play nice" with each other. They were trying to do that by watching a football rerun; they were not huge fans, but it was really one of the few things that they agreed on when it came to the television.

"What do you mean? My team's winning," Tatsu pointed out. She was curled up in one of the armchairs. She found that she did not like the seat much when it was just her in it.

The older woman chuckled a little bit. "Not the game, Tats. With your girl."

"Huh?" Tatsu turned to look at the pale woman.

"With your bitch, you're fucking up with her. You didn't get laid last night and it showed when you woke up. She made you that special omelet for breakfast and you didn't even notice, so forget saying something about it. Now, she's gone to do laundry and you didn't volunteer to go with her to keep her company and whatever the hell else you do when you go boring places with her," Shego stated, checking off each mistake on one of her fingers.

"She didn't want Joss to hear…" Tatsu grumbled, eyes on the floor and a frown tugging at her lip.

"Yeah, I'll bet the little terror would have been on the phone immediately if she heard that. 'Daddy, big bad lesbians are fucking right next door to me! They'll come for me next!' But, that doesn't explain everything," Shego argued with a little smirk.

"The omelet she made was special?" Tatsu thought back to breakfast. She just knew that the omelet was different, not usually what she ate. It was delicious, like everything that Trin made, but she did not guess that it was special. Her mind had been on other things.

"You sort of just inhaled it without looking at it, huh? You really are fucking up."

Tatsu whimpered and continued to stare at the floor. How could she miss that the omelet was special? Of course there was a reason why it was not what she usually ate…and all she did was devour it like the pig she was, she thought. She moved and hid her face in her hands, feeling as if she might actually cry. She could not believe how stupid she was and how she was now letting things slip away.

"Hey, Tats, you can't watch the game through your fingers. If you're not going to watch, I'll just lie and say my team won," Shego teased with a grin. They had bet on the game, even though it was a rerun. It just happened to be a game that they never saw before, so they could bet on it like a regular game.

Tatsu did not care, even though she could not stand to lose any money at the moment. All she could do was wonder why the hell she was so stupid? Why had Trin even stayed with her for so long? Why did she dare to think that they would last forever? She was not smart enough to hold onto an intellectual like Trin, she told herself. She was not strong enough to protect the blonde. She was not worldly enough to even hold a conversation with her blonde bombshell. How could she ever begin to think that she would be with Trin for the rest of her life?!

"So, why didn't you go with bitchy to do laundry?" Shego inquired after a long moment of silence. Too long, if anyone bothered to ask her.

"Don't call her that," Tatsu mumbled, frowning in the former thief's direction.

"Oh, come on! You know I'm joking! God, you're damn sour today!" Shego flung a throw pillow at the pouting mechanic.

Tatsu dipped the pillow as expected. "Stop being such an asshole for ten seconds."

"Fuck you. I'm always an asshole. What's your damn gripe? If you're going to pout, you should've gone with bitchy and done the laundry. Why are you such a crybaby these past few days?" Shego huffed. Usually, she and Tatsu had a decent time being left alone, acting like two eight-year-olds with their mommies gone.

Tatsu grunted. "Shut up."

"Fuck you. I don't shut up for anybody. You want me to shut up, come over here and make me," Shego ordered, pointing down in front of her.

So, of course, Tatsu had to get up and try to make Shego shut up. Trin did not even bat an eye when she came to see the pair leaping around the living room, grappling with each other. She just went to put the laundry away. Kim came into the same scene and reacted differently.

"You two! Cut it out and clean up this mess!" Kim ordered, motioning around to the knocked over items on the floor. They had thankfully not knocked over any furniture or Trin would have mounted their heads on the wall.

The two fighters paused to regard Kim and then continued their brawl. Shego did have the mind to stop when Kim started glaring, but the look did not mean the same to Tatsu, so she kept going on. Shego yelped as she suddenly found herself in some kind of wrestling hold with her face pressed into the hardwood floor.

"Thanks, Kimmie," Shego groaned.

"Tatsu," Kim said with a pleading expression.

The mechanic sighed and stepped away from the green-skinned annoyance, throwing Shego's legs out while she was at it. The former villainess growled and shot up, hands ignited. A moment beat by and then the hands went out.

"What's for dinner around this joint anyway?" Shego inquired with a smile. Kim sighed and shook her head.

"I'm not sure. Baby, is there anything you want?" Trin asked, sticking her head out of their bedroom to look at her lover.

Tatsu blinked and ran her hand through her hair. "I dunno…" she muttered.

"No?" Trin stepped back into the room for a moment and poked her head out for a second time. "Kim, is there something you want?"

"Why don't you ever ask me?!" Shego huffed. "It was my idea about dinner anyway!"

Trin did not even look in Shego's direction. "Mini-me?"

"Maybe we should wait for Joss," Kim proposed.

"But, I'm hungry now and there's no telling when she'll be home since you let the spoiled brat walk," Shego pointed out while patting her girlfriend on the back. She was so proud of Kim for coming home alone.

"I didn't let her walk. It's just that when I got out of my meeting with my professor, which went very well I have to say, I asked around for where the orientation was. By the time I found it, they had already gotten out. Someone told me they were getting a tour of the campus and it would take a couple of hours, so I just hope that Joss is smart enough to call when she's done," Kim explained.

Shego's face fell, along with the hand that had been on Kim's shoulder. Just when she thought that she rubbed off just a little on Kim when it came to everyday life, her dreams were shattered. She knew that caring so much was only going to lead to heartache for Kim and she really wanted to avoid that in someway, but getting Kim to stop caring did not seem to be working.

"So, you're going to go out of your way and pick her up then," the ex-thief said.

"I have to. You know how the buses are around here on the weekends. Besides, Joss doesn't know how to take the bus," Kim countered.

"Yet Joss does know how to act like she knows every damn thing, so you need to let her figure out that she doesn't know everything," Shego argued.

"Look, Uncle Slim trusted me and Trin to take care of his daughter and that's what we're going to do!" Kim proclaimed. "Right, sis?"

There was a moment of silence. "Right," came from Trin's bedroom. She had to repeat it to herself that they had made Slim a promise, which meant that they had to send Joss back in one piece at the very least. "We'll wait for Joss to get back then."

Shego's face hit the floor for the second time. Tatsu's face scrunched up in confusion. Trin agreed with Kim that they had to take care of that little brat? Their heads swam at the thought of Trin caring about someone that obviously did not give a damn about her. It was surreal.

--------------

Next time: Joss tries to get home on her own and ends up turning a corner, and not just in her journey home.


	5. Hard knocks

I don't own these characters; Disney does. Well, I do own Trin and Tatsu, but everyone else belongs to Disney.

5: Hard knocks

Joss smiled and waved goodbye to her new friends. She had met plenty of people during orientation that would be in the same summer program as she was. Many of them were going to be her classes too. She tried her best to get along with them, even though she thought that quite a few of them were strange. She knew it was mostly because they were from all over the country and the world and she had never left Montana; hell, she had barely been away from the ranch, much less the state.

It was nice meeting so many different people, she thought to herself. She wished that she was staying in the dorms with them in order to get to know them better, but that was not to be. She stuck around with them until they had to be in the dorms; there was a ten o'clock curfew. They had not stayed out that late because everyone did want to put their things away and get dinner. Joss' stomach informed her that they were not the only ones that wanted dinner.

"Hmm…according to the bus schedule, there should be a bus coming in a few minutes," Joss muttered to herself and she marched to the nearest bus stop. She felt proud of herself and smiled when she found the stop, happy that she studied the transit maps well enough to know where to find the bus stops around the school.

A few minutes came and went, yet no bus showed. Joss remembered what happened that morning when she waited for the bus and how Kim told her the buses did not really follow a schedule on the weekends, despite what transit claimed. Joss gave the bus a half-hour before she started walking. It took thirty minutes to get the campus that morning by car, but Joss was certain that she could walk to Trin's apartment from there. She even ignored the fact that it was starting to get dark.

She had been walking for fifteen minutes before it suddenly felt like her stomach was ready to cave in on itself; lunch had been almost seven hours ago and she did not have any snacks in between. She wrapped one hand around her snarling belly and started scanning around for places to eat since she doubted that there would be any dinner waiting for her at Trin's place; she did not want to eat anything there anyway. She pressed on while taking note that a young man had been walking behind her for the past minute. It would not have meant much to her normal, but she was walking slowly due to her hunger. She could not help wondering why he had not passed her yet.

It was a big city and it was getting dark, Joss reminded herself. Just as she was about to get suspicious about the guy behind her, he showed her exactly what he was after. He rushed her as she was coming to a narrow alley and yanked her into the shadow-covered dead-end. She did not even have time to scream as he shoved her into the hard brick wall and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Just give me your money and you won't get hurt," he ordered in a harsh, but low voice.

Joss was ready to show her would-be assailant some moves that she learned from her cousin until he pressed a large hunting knife to her throat. She gulped and her heart sped up while her wide dark green eyes focused on the blade at her neck, feeling the cold metal against her heated flesh. The thought that she was going to die floated through her mind briefly; she was going to die for a whole twenty dollars.

Reacting "like a Possible" as Shego would later put it, Joss kicked her assailant in the groin as hard as she could. He let out a high-pitch squeal and fell the ground. His knife tumbled from his hand while he began to turn a dark blue. Joss did not stick around to see if he was all right. She dashed back onto the street and ran as fast as she could. She turned several corners and then ran into a busy diner, hoping that she lost the would-be thief. After several heart-pounding minutes, Joss figured that she lost him since he did not reappear anywhere and then she realized that she lost herself too.

"Oh, no," she mumbled to herself. She was lost in a city that she had never been in before and would not begin to know where to go. Her lip trembled and she felt like she might cry. _How could things have gone so wrong so quickly?_ Barely an hour ago, she was having a good time with her new friends and now she was shaking from almost being mugged.

At a loss for what to do, Joss shoved her hands into her pants' pockets. She felt her cell phone and ran her fingers along it. She knew what she could do and she did not think much when she did it. She pulled out her cell phone and went through her "contacts" list before putting the phone to her ear.

"What's the sitch?" The familiar greeting made her smile, but she did not realize that the expression was on her face.

"Um…Kim, I got out of orientation and I thought that you might come and get me," Joss answered, trying her best to sound normal. Instead, she sounded somewhat embarrassed and a little shaken.

"Sure, no problem," Kim replied. She was smiling because her cousin was not being rude for the first time. She thought that Joss' tone was due to the fact that she had to ask for help when it was clear that she wanted to try doing things for herself. "Just tell me what you're near, so I know what part of the campus I need to come to."

Joss looked around. "Um…I'm not on campus anymore."

"No? Then where are you?"

Joss had to step outside to read the name of the diner. "Some place called Ted's Eats."

The sharp gasped made the young teen cringe, as did the yelling that followed. "Joss, what are you doing in that part of town? It's dangerous around there, especially after dark!"

"I was trying to walk home," the younger teen explained weakly.

"Joss, you…you know what, never mind. I'll talk to you once we get you home. I'm leaving right now. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"

"Yes, please."

Kim made sure to talk to Joss for the whole time as she drove to get the girl. They talked about how orientation went and about the people that she met. Kim noted how excited Joss was about meeting people from all over the globe and learning all about them. _How ironic_, the hero thought. Her cousin was actually very open-minded, except when it came to family it would seem.

"Thanks, Kim," Joss said in a quiet voice as she got into the car. Her thanks were not just for the pick up, but also for keeping her calm when she was alone. She was able to forget about what caused her to call her cousin in the first place because Kim stayed on the line with her.

"No problem, Joss. Next time, though, just call if you need someone to pick you up. We don't want anything to happen to you trying to find your way around the city by yourself. I can barely get around this place by myself and I've been here since August," Kim pointed out. They were not in some small college town, but a fairly big city with a lot of narrow streets, back alleys, and bad neighborhoods to go along with the universities, museums, and gated communities.

"I was doing fine," Joss countered in a proud tone. Well, she thought that she was doing fine. She was not totally sure if she had been going the right way and she would never know now thanks to that would-be robber.

"I'm sure you were, but you know, there are some places in the city that you shouldn't go, especially alone. Until you learn about where those places are, you should just ask. It doesn't make you any less capable if you ask for help."

Joss nodded to show that she understood. The rest of the trip home was spent with Joss telling Kim more about orientation and how she was looking forward to Monday, which was when she and the other high-schoolers in the program would start their college courses. The program had two hundred of the top high-school students from around the country taking their choices in a number of college courses; there were a hundred of the top students from around the world in the program too. The students would get credit for the courses too.

When they arrived at Trin's apartment, Joss was surprised to find that dinner was made and everyone had waited for her. She did not say anything about it and went to wash her hands to join everyone at the dinner table. She found dinner to be much like breakfast with Trin and Shego arguing, but nothing really coming of it. Kim tried to play referee while Tatsu was quiet, very quiet.

After dinner, Joss went to take a shower. She found places for her toiletries and inspected the ones that were already in the bathroom. She guessed that they mostly, if not all, belonged to Trin. Most of them smelled like Trin anyway.

Her shower was not disturbed, even though she kept glancing at the door as if she expected someone to burst in at any moment despite the fact that the door was locked. She dressed in only one set of pajamas that night and, when she went to "her" bedroom, she did not lock the door. She fell into bed and slept easily, especially since she did not hear any "oh, god" screams that night.

----(New day)

Joss was sitting in her morning class, which her cousins had helped her find. She came to school that morning with Trin and Kim. The cousins had not spoken in the car ride, but Joss had not turned Kim down when the redhead offered to help her find her class. The funny thing was that Kim did not know where the building was either; Trin had been the one to answer. Still, Joss had thanked Kim when it was all said and done and said nothing to Trin.

The course that she was currently sitting in was ancient philosophy. She was expected to have a well-rounded schedule and they had to have six classes, so to go with her science and math classes, she decided to take philosophy and introduction to Japanese. She had each class twice a week, three classes each day with each class being two hours long, and a three-day weekend. Before class started, she and some of her new friends that were in the same class compared schedules to find out if they would see more of each other. They all wished each other luck and talked how excited they were to be able to gain college credits; they had to pass their classes with at least a B in order to get credit.

When the professor walked in, all conversation stopped. The professor decided to do roll, just to make sure everyone in the class was on his roster for the summer. Every thing went normal until he got to Joss' name.

"Jocelyn Possible?"

Her hand went up. "Here."

"Are you related to Trin Possible?" he asked curiously.

Joss blinked, not expecting that one. "Um…she's my cousin."

"Really? Brilliant woman…if not a bit strange. I hope that you spark as many good debates as she did." With that said, he went back to taking roll and Joss was left confused.

After the class, Joss was left to explain to her friends that she had two cousins that went to the school. Unlike the professor, they glanced over Trin and wanted to talk about Kim. Joss found herself answering any and all questions about the redhead, but found herself stymied every time a couple of people asked about Trin. Joss did not know a damn thing about Trin's academic career, which a couple of her friends kept asking about. Apparently, they had read some articles that she wrote for a scientific journal; Joss did not even know what science Trin was interested in.

"You're lucky to have such famous cousins. I bet you're just as smart as them," one of the boys in the group commented, smiling at Joss.

Joss scratched her head, not sure what to say. She was prepared to argue that Trin was not that smart or famous, but she did not want to alienate her few friends that seemed to like the idea that they had of the blonde. She bet that they would change their tunes if they knew the real Trin; the Trin that flaunted her depraved relationship in front of children, the Trin that disrespected her whole family, the Trin that was more than likely a drug addict, and the Trin that was so evil her real parents did not want her…the real Trin…

…The Trin that made breakfast in the morning just the way each individual at the table wanted it.

Joss shook that thought away and went onto her next class. She was taking pre-calculus and she was very much looking forward to it. She got the syllabus for the class, just like for her philosophy class. The students were also given the text books for free; such things were included in the program. They also received advanced, scientific calculators that cost over a hundred dollars, but they got them for free. The whole day was so exciting for her that she was even happy to get homework that first day and she did not mind having her back-pack weighed down with several books.

--------------

"They gave us all this free stuff! We didn't have to pay for any of the textbooks, even the ones that were like over a hundred dollars!" Joss informed her cousins as she bounced around the backseat of the car. She was mostly talking to Kim, who was looking at her while Trin was focused on the road ahead of them.

"That's great, Joss." Kim smiled, genuinely smiled. Her eyes shone brightly thanks to her young cousin's excitement. She thought that the girl might explode from her delight.

"They all jumped into the work right away too! It was nothing like regular school where they clown around the first day! They wanted to see what we know already and everybody knows so much! My friend, Jacob, he's from Germany and he knew almost everything that Professor Bailey asked in ancient philosophy! I can't want to learn around all of the philosophers! I mean, all we touched in school were Socrates and a little Aristotle!"

Kim laughed as Joss just went on and on. She was sure that Joss did not even realize most of the things that she was saying, just going on due to how fired up she was. Kim could not help glancing at Trin and saw a smile was stuck to that pale face as well. Trin was touched by Joss' desire to learn and her excitement over something that most people took for granted.

"Life is about enjoying the little things…" Trin whispered, speaking more to herself, but the words were for the younger ones in the car. At that moment, she hoped that they were both always eager over little things, but did big things with their lives.

Joss was not quiet even when they got back to the apartment. Shego and Tatsu paused in their activities; one working over a speed bag in the corner and the other taking apart the toaster for lack of a better thing to do. They turned their attention to the noise, which was at the door and came inside when the door was opened. They looked at each other when they saw that the noise was Joss speaking…to her cousins of all people.

"Twilight Zone," Shego decided. Yeah, they had to be in the Twilight Zone, especially considering how big Joss was smiling while talking to Kim and Trin. Proving the fact all the more was the tiny smile that Trin was wearing.

The chatter persisted only for another few seconds and then they were all drawn back into reality. Trin went over to Tatsu and greeted her lover as she always did: with a lingering kiss on the lips. Although most would not label the kiss "scandalous" and it was tame for a couple, the action slammed on the breaks in Joss' head, but she still had a full, head-on collusion with her surroundings.

She was in a house full of lesbians and degenerates. Three of them were criminals; she was speculating on Tatsu's criminal status, but news always went around the Possible family when Trin had a brush with the law. She mumbled something, an excuse to leave most assuredly, but quite possibly not English. She then rushed to her room, shutting the door behind her.

Tension pushed into the room with the sound of the slamming door. Trin's jaw tightened as her eyes shifted from her lover to the closed door. Kim's expression quickly went from grinning with happiness to wounded, hurt, and bleeding internally.

"I guess kissing is off your list of things you can do in the house, right along with sex, huh?" Shego remarked with a forced grin. This kid was screwing up a lot of things with her attitude and Shego really did just want to put her on a bus back to the boondocks of Montana.

Tatsu swallowed hard and searched Trin's face for some response to that. Was kissing out of the question now too? She had the excuse, after all. What would be next? Cuddling? Touching altogether? When would the point come when Trin just told her to go back to Middleton and all communications would then cease? She would be alone again; she would be nothing then.

Tatsu was about to say something, but she stopped, fear clogging her throat. What if she said something stupid or wrong? As Shego had pointed out a couple of days ago, she had been fumbling a lot lately. She did not want to make things worse and she was sure that she would say the wrong thing. She was no good at talking, after all.

"Mind your own damn business, you second-string sidekick," Trin said to Shego as she stood up to her proper height. "I've got a research paper I need to start. Someone figure out what they want for dinner, go to the store and buy the materials if necessary, and I'll do the rest." Trin then retreated into her bedroom to change into something more comfortable.

Tatsu glanced up, noticing Shego going over to Kim and wrapping her in a comforting hug. She ran her hand through her short hair as she realized that Shego was trying to take away the edge that Joss brought on. Feeling like a voyeur, she turned her ice blue eyes back to the toaster and remembered the first time that she had ever taken one apart. She had been about eight or nine and her father slapped her in the back of the head, stating that an idiot like her had no brains to be playing with things like that and she better pay for it since she was too stupid to fix it. She had listened to him and it took her almost a month to get enough money to buy him a new toaster.

"_I put the other back together, though…_" Tatsu muttered to herself. She then shook those thoughts away, hating to remember how stupid she used to be and was certain that she still was.

Kim and Shego left the apartment, saying that they would be back in a little while. Shego wanted to patch up her girlfriend's injured soul and knew that would best be done at their own home. The pale woman had a feeling it was going to be a long and rough summer if she was going to have to deal with a heartbroken Kim every time Joss saw Trin and Tatsu kiss.

--------------

Shego was sitting on the sofa, channel surfing so quickly that the shows barely appeared on the screen. She was doing it mostly because she knew it got Tatsu's nerves when the mechanic was actually trying to see what was on. Sure enough, Tatsu was in the usual armchair, leaning forward, trying her damnedest to see what Shego just let go by.

"Goddamn it, Shego, just keep it on one channel!" Tatsu snarled.

The outburst—as much as Tatsu could have an outburst with her voice—caught the attention of the other party in the living room, Joss. The young teen was parked on the floor with her pre-cal book out, papers all over the floor, calculator on, and a perplexed look on her face that was replaced by one of shock when Tatsu went off. The Montana native flinched and looked ready to jump to the moon.

Tatsu noticed and was not sure what caused her next course of action, but she tore away from her seat and fled into the bedroom. She felt like she could not do anything aside for run away; it was that or end up hurting Joss in some manner and she knew that would not sit well with the Possibles. Shego watched Tatsu go and then turned her attention to Joss. She wished Shin was around; he would be perfect in managing to deflect all of the insanity that was going on in the apartment lately.

"_I just wanted a nice, quiet summer where I could see Kimmie in a bikini. Was that too much to ask for?"_ Shego wondered. It seemed so. Instead of Kim in a bikini, she had to deal with family drama too stupid to comprehend, which said a lot in her opinion considering the family that she came from.

For a long moment, Shego sat there and watched Joss as she calmed down. She focused back on her books and homework. Her face went back to scrunching up in bewilderment. The numbers obviously were not making much sense to the young Possible.

"You know, Kimmie's a whiz at this math shit. Doesn't even use a calculator. Just fucking channels Newton or something," Shego commented as if she was speaking to the air.

"I don't need any help," Joss declared in a proud voice.

"Never said you did. Just stating a fact that Kimmie's a math genius. Now, if I needed help with my math homework, she would be the one I would ask. I mean, she's not majoring in math just cuz it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Joss did not reply, but her face changed. Shego turned her attention back to the television, figuring her work for the evening was done. After a few long minutes, Joss got up, taking her textbook, paper, and calculator with her. She went to the table where Kim was buried in books of her own.

"Um…Kim…" Joss said, fidgeting a little.

"Yes, Joss?" Kim asked while trying to figure out why English courses felt the need to shove so much reading into between classes.

"Um…you major in math, right?"

Kim looked up. "I do. You need help?"

"Um…yes, please…"

"Well, pull up a chair and I'll help," Kim answered with a smile.

Joss smiled too and did as she was told. She put her books next to Kim's books and the redhead went into explaining how to get through the pre-cal problems. Joss nodded when she understood, questioned when she did not, and worked through problems with Kim as a guide. The smiles did not waver between those two, but there was still tension in the apartment.

--------------

Next time: Trin and Tatsu slip further apart while Joss starts getting along with her cousins until a surprise doesn't go so well. Special guests: Ron and Yori!


	6. Get along

I don't own these characters; Disney does. I do own Trin and Tatsu, though.

6: Get along

The Possibles were tucked away in Trin's living room. Kim was working on her English work on the floor and Trin was working on a paper while sitting on the sofa. Joss was done with her homework thanks to help from Kim and was watching television in one of the armchairs. Shego had gone back to her and Kim's apartment for a long shower; it was a ploy to lure Kim home, so they could have some privacy. Tatsu had volunteered to do the dishes, so she was currently up to her elbows in suds, but being useful, she mentally insisted.

Tatsu marched into the living room when she was done and flopped down on the sofa with her blonde bombshell. She was about to make herself comfortable by curling into Trin's side, but she noticed Joss watching her out of the corner of her eye. For a moment, Tatsu did not care and moved anyway, but then she remembered the temper tantrum Joss threw earlier, not to mention the way her blonde bombshell pulled away from her when Joss threw the temper tantrum.

Trin noticed her love coming closer to her and then suddenly pulling away. She had to swallow down more emotion in that moment than she thought possible and silently prayed that she did not choke on it. She tried to focus on her paper, but of course, she was now plagued by thoughts of her baby not wanting her anymore.

The blonde wondered, what went wrong? Was she too needy? Was her life just too crazy? Was she not affectionate enough? Was she not there enough? Why was Tatsu falling out of love with her? Was there something that she could do to prevent that or was she just going to have to let Tatsu go?

"_I'll do whatever I can to make her happy…_" Trin thought.

The night went on with Tatsu sitting on the sofa with Trin, but not touching her in any way. Kim eventually got up to leave going to her own apartment. Joss fled to her bedroom shortly after. Tatsu glanced over at her lover several times, wondering if she could embrace her now, but decided against it. She just would not be able to take Trin pulling away again.

--------------

Kim made sure to put all of her schoolwork away and set it on the coffee table in the living room. She made sure the books that she would need tomorrow were all put away in her book-bag, which she then placed to the side of the coffee table. With everything where it was supposed to be, she made her way to the bedroom. She walked past the room that they used as a gym and then into the bedroom to find Shego in bed, curled up with a book.

"Hey, Princess, I thought you were going to stay there with the way things were going with your baby cousin," Shego commented. Things with Joss were going so smoothly that Shego seriously thought that she might be sleeping alone that night because Kim would just hang out with her cousin and sister for the rest of the night.

"Thanks for the help, Shego," Kim said with a bright smile.

Shego feigned ignorance, waving her lover's words off. "What help? I didn't do anything but curse the little brat out whenever I could."

Kim only smiled; she did not expect Shego to own up to her actions. She just wanted to let her lover know that she recognized the effort and appreciated that Shego was trying to help her with her cousin. Now, if only she could tell Shego how sweet that was without actually ticking the older woman off, she would be all set.

When nothing came to mind at that moment, Kim went to take her shower and she then crawled in bed with Shego. The pale woman quickly abandoned her book and wrapped her arms around Kim, letting the hero find out that her girlfriend was quite nude underneath their sheets.

"Shego!" Kim squeaked as she was pressed against the supple form the ex-thief.

"What? It's hot!" Shego grinned as she gave the excuse for her nakedness.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kim remarked while making herself comfortable. She rested her head on the offered green shoulder. She caressed the naked skin of her girlfriend and smiled while doing so.

Shego could not help smiling too thanks to the attention. "So, how'd the homework go? I don't want to have to kick your sister's ass because she keeps being bitchy about everything. Besides, school is important," she stated seriously.

The redhead chuckled a bit, even though she knew that Shego was being dead serious. Shego had gotten on her case during her first year as much as Trin had; it was one of those times when the pair teaming up proved to be more annoying than when they were at each other's throats. Shego took school very seriously, having two master degrees of her own. Kim was certain that Shego regretted never using her degrees, which was the reason for the older woman getting on her case.

"I finished everything," Kim assured her girlfriend.

"Good, then we can have a little playtime!" Shego grinned as she shifted and rolled onto of the redhead.

"Shego!" Kim giggled and squirmed, purposely rubbing up against her girlfriend.

Shego's grin turned into a simple smile as she stared into the olive green eyes of her lover, which caused Kim to stop moving for a moment. Shego paused and wondered when she fell in love with the hero. How did Kim go from being just a pest to someone that owned her heart? She did not know the exact date or time and she realized that she did not care.

"Shego…?" the redhead said, wondering just what was going through her lover's mind. From the look on Shego's face, she could guess, but she wanted to know for sure.

"I love you, Kimmie."

"I love you too."

Kim wrapped her arms around Shego and kissed her deeply. Shego continued to smile as they broke apart. She rested her forehead against Kim's head.

"I want you to be happy…" Shego whispered. She wanted to protect Kim from all the ills of the world.

"Keep doing what you're doing."

Shego nodded and silently vowed to continue on protecting Kim. She was also going to protect the future that she wanted them to have. She was going to have to get Kim through Joss first, she knew that.

----(New day)

"Okay, so how does this work?" Joss inquired while pointing to a page in her textbook. She was speaking to Kim. They were sitting in Trin's living room, which was littered with their schoolwork.

Shego was sitting at the table, waiting for food and reading a book. She glanced in the living room every so often, making sure that things were calm. Trin was in the kitchen and could see her quite plainly whenever her eyes strayed from her book, but she never said anything. Shego wondered if it was out of respect since Shego had yet to say anything about the fact that Tatsu stopped touching Trin some days ago. They both could avoid embarrassment as long as they both kept their big mouths shut.

"Shego, get them," Trin said out of the blue.

The former thief rolled her eyes at the order. "Hey! Bookworms and sleepyheads! Chow's on!" Shego was the dinner bell.

"Let's go eat," Kim said as she stood up from her place on the floor. Joss followed her lead and started walking toward the table while Kim shook Tatsu awake. The mechanic was sleeping on the couch.

Tatsu swatted a little at the redhead. "I'm up, Trin-clone," she muttered into the sofa cushion.

"You've been sleeping a lot on the couch the past few days. Are you okay? If you're getting sick, you should tell Trin. You know she'll love playing nurse for you," Kim remarked with a cheeky grin that she could have only picked up from Shego.

Tatsu resisted the urge to snort, but did have to yawn to cover up the noise that escaped her throat. Trin was not even touching her anymore, so playing nurse was a pipe dream. She sat up to prove that she was awake and watched Kim trot off to the table. She continued to look at Kim pulled her chair close to Shego, always close to Shego.

Ice blue eyes drifted to the floor. Once upon a time, she was close to her own Possible like Shego was with Kim. Once upon a time, she and Trin were the example for Shego and Kim.

"_Maybe this was inevitable. All good things come to an end. I bet it won't end like this between Shego and Kim, though. Shego's smart and talkative and strong. She can protect Kim and keep up with her. I can't do those things with Trin. I never could. She's probably just been going slow all this time for me…"_ Tatsu thought.

"Tatsu, are you going to sit?" Trin inquired, taking the mechanic from her thoughts.

Tatsu's head shot up for her to see tropical eyes locked onto her. She gulped, just feeling those eyes on her made her insides quiver, especially since it was now the only way for her to feel Trin. She quickly took a chair, hoping that it would get the eyes off of her. Trin's gaze lingered for a moment, but she turned away because just the sight of Tatsu now caused an intense ache in her chest.

"Why doesn't she love me anymore?" the blonde asked herself as she set Tatsu's plate down.

Tatsu focused on her food, fried fish, baked potatoes, and broccoli. She almost had to swallow her tongue to keep from crying at the sight. She had managed to blow a relationship with a woman who was kind enough to cook every meal just the way she liked it. Her potatoes, two of them, covered in butter and ketchup and her broccoli with a liberal coating of cheese. She was losing someone that seemed to care so much about her. Tatsu was in such despair that she did not catch how backwards her thoughts were.

"Whoa, blondie, why didn't I get two baked potatoes like the silent one over there?" Shego demanded. "It can't be because I'm not fucking you since Tatsu isn't either," she joked.

"Fuck you, Shego!" Trin roared and threw a plate at the pale woman.

"Whoa!" Shego ducked and the empty plate crashed against the wall. "PMS much?" she remarked with an arched eyebrow. _That was close!_

"Sis?" Kim stood up and walked over to the now shaking blonde. Kim stood in front of Trin, blocking her view of everyone else. She grabbed Trin's hands. "Sis, is everything okay?" she asked in a low tone.

"Yeah, I just have this headache right between my eyes," Trin replied and she took off her glasses in order to massage the bridge of her nose.

"You should go lie down right after we finish eating then. I mean, if it's getting to you enough for you to throw a plate at Shego over a joke, you know it's serious," Kim stated.

Trin nodded in agreement; she was definitely going to go lie down after dinner. She was not lying about the headache, but Shego's comment got to her because it was so true. She and Tatsu had not had sex since Joss' arrival. It was grating on her nerves.

The blonde went back to serving dinner without any other outbursts. She did not bother to look Joss' way because she did not feel like being judged for her admittedly outlandish behavior. Shego shook it off and started eating while still complaining about her single baked potato. Trin sat down last, on the same side of the table, but not very close to Tatsu.

"Cousin Trin, I been meaning to ask you, where'd you learn to cook so well?" Joss asked after devouring most of her meal. She was pretty sure that she had never eaten so good since coming to stay with her cousins. Trin made food like they were at a restaurant every night.

The blonde glanced up and all eyes went to Joss. The young teen squirmed in her seat a little, not liking that everyone was focused on her when she had asked a question of Trin. Everyone was surprised because Joss had not spoken directly to Trin at any point in her stay, even when needing help with her biology homework; she had asked Kim and begged the redhead to ask Trin about the things that Kim did not understand.

"My mom," Trin answered with a shrug.

"I didn't know Aunt Anne cooked," Joss commented.

Trin smiled just a little and only Kim could know why. Joss, though brought up under the notion that Trin was not a Possible and that Anne and James were not really Trin's parents, the cowgirl had immediately associated Trin's mother with Anne. It was a step in the right direction, Kim thought as a smile worked its way onto her mouth.

"Yeah, she can cook a little something. Some of the other stuff I've learned from Shin's mother. Lastly, I just experiment. I've got my own guinea pig in Shin, so I just make him eat anything until I perfect it," Trin explained.

"Good plan," Joss said. "It paid off. May I have more, please?"

Trin nodded and she went get Joss more food. As Joss dug into her next helping, she started going on about how her classes were going. She grinned all the way through her reports about the courses, the professors, and her new friends. Best of all, she asked questions and made statements to include everyone at the table in her discussion.

"I really think I might go here for college. I mean, I just have to make sure my grades stay high and I do a lot of extracurricular activities. That's what you did, right, Kim?" Joss asked.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I did," Kim answered. "I think if your grades are really good, you don't need to worry about the activities."

"Is that what happened with you, Trin?" Joss inquired.

"I had enough activities. I played tennis and did swimming," Trin answered.

"Really? Do you still play sports?"

"No, I don't," the blonde answered.

"Shego, did you go to college?" Joss asked curiously.

"Yeah, went and graduated, shockingly enough. In fact, I do believe I have the most and highest degrees here," Shego said, looking to bait Trin obviously. She had already forgotten about the plate to her head at the beginning of dinner.

"Oh, please, Shego, a masters' in child development? I wouldn't blow my nose with that," Trin replied.

"I wouldn't blow my nose with bachelors' you got. Your little four year degree," the former thief said while flicking her hand in Trin's direction to dismiss her.

"You know, you're going to be the first person to call me Doctor Possible when I'm done with this program," Trin said.

"Blah, blah, blah," Shego mocked her.

Tatsu was quiet as they continued on. She thought about how when Trin was done with her schooling, she was going to be a doctor of biochemistry. God, Tatsu barely knew what biochemistry was and her girlfriend was going to hold a PhD in the subject whenever her schooling was done. Trin's degree had not bothered Tatsu for a while now, but old insecurities were wrecking havoc on her brain now.

The conversation went on until Kim's kimmunicator went off. "What's the sitch?" she answered while getting up from the table to avoid interrupting the conversation anymore than she had already done. Talking continued while she was gone and she came back several minutes later.

"Who was that?" Trin asked curiously as Kim returned sporting a large, happy grin.

"That was Ron. He said he's going to come through here tomorrow on his way to Middleton," Kim reported.

"He's coming here to get to Middleton? Where's he coming from, the Arctic?" Trin inquired with a craned eyebrow.

"I didn't even bother to ask. He's not going to stay for too long. He really wants to get to Middleton to see his family," the redhead informed them.

"So, Ron got you grinning like this?" Shego asked while resting her cheek in her hand.

"Jealous?" Kim teased.

"Hell, no. I've seen the grin I can put on your face, after all," the older woman remarked with a devilish smirk.

Kim laughed a bit and then threw on a fake pout. "Aw, you don't love me enough to be jealous?"

"No, I'm just that good," Shego said smoothly.

That line earned Shego a few laughs. The night went well for the most part and everyone retired as they usually did, which meant of tense night of sharing a bed for Trin and Tatsu. They had gotten to the point where they did not even touch in bed, resisting temptation as well as hoping to stave off rejection.

In the bedroom next door, Joss was eager and could not help grinning to herself. Her heart was still pounding heavy in her chest from when Kim first announced that Ron was going to come tomorrow. She could not want to finally see him again. She hoped that he stayed around long enough for her to show him the website that she made of him, she could tell him all about her summer program, and she could tell him what courses she was planning to take next year.

With all of the thoughts going through her mind, Joss barely got any sleep. She crawled out of bed when she heard the light noise in the kitchen, letting her know that Trin was up and making breakfast. She glanced at the clock and noted that Trin was an hour late and then she remembered that it was Friday and there were no classes on Friday.

Joss leaped out of bed and rushed out into the living room as if it was Christmas morning. Unfortunately, there were no presents to be found, only her eldest cousin, working in the kitchen. Pouting, Joss flopped down into a dining room seat.

"Your morning seems to be going just as well as mine," Trin remarked without taking her eyes off of task. She did not give her cousin a chance to answer. "I was thinking of making French Toast today. What's your preference?"

"Um…Can you put whipped cream on it?" Joss requested with a delighted grin. Her mother never allowed her to put whipped cream on breakfast foods. In fact, she was not allowed to have anything sugary until the afternoon.

Trin did not say anything and the silence let Joss know that she had not made an impossible request. The young teen did not make any attempts at conversation, nor did the blonde. Joss stared at the door, waiting.

The teen grinned when she heard keys in the door. Shego and Kim walked in, speaking to each other. They went right to the table and Joss' face fell when she saw it was just the couple. Shego arched an eyebrow when she saw Joss' expression. Kim looked just as curious.

"You okay, Joss?" Kim asked.

"I'm fine. I was just wondering when Ron was going to show up," Joss answered without thinking.

Shego was about to say something, but the glare from Kim shut everything down. The pale woman flung herself into her usual seat and found the newspaper waiting as always; Trin abandoned the paper in the same spot every morning. Kim sat down next to her love.

"Ron should be here at about noon. I told him I'd convince Trin to make lunch," Kim remarked.

"Like hell I'll make anything for him," Trin replied.

"Please, sis! We haven't seen him in a while and I know you miss him as much as I do! You like Ron as much as you like the tweebs, you know you do!" Kim teased, cooing at the end of her statement.

Trin rolled her eyes and decided not to bother with arguing with her little sister. Kim grinned in triumph. Shego was about to say something, but continued reading the paper instead of piggy-backing on her girlfriend's success against the blonde.

--------------

"Hold on, I'm coming!" Kim called to the door, knowing who was knocking already just from the rhythm combo going on with the knocks.

Ron almost fell into the apartment as Kim yanked the door open at just the right moment; she obviously timed him to do that on purpose. He laughed, as expected, as did Kim. Then before anyone could even gather what was going on, Ron scooped Kim up into a huge hug.

"K.P, I missed you so much!" the blonde young man shouted to the heavens.

"I missed you too, Ron!" she replied and eagerly returned the hug while grinning like she knew the secrets of the universe. Her heart felt ready to explode with joy because she remembered how just a year ago there was no way that he would have received her in such a warm manner.

"Hey, hey, hey, three second rule when it comes to my Kimmie!" Shego called from her seat at the dining room table. She was eating some cake that she "found" in the fridge. She was fairly certain that it was Trin's, but the blonde had not bitched about it yet, so she continued eating.

"Fine, fine, fine," Ron conceded with a laugh as he released the redhead, earning a sigh of relief from a young teen in the living room and also a teenager behind him.

As Ron put Kim down, Joss approached, wanting to greet Ron personally. "Hi, Ron," she said in a coy sort of purr. It was not meant to be suggestive, but her voice did not seem to know what to do in his presence.

"Oh, hey, Joss, long time no see," Ron replied with a friendly smile as he stepped deeper into the apartment. "I brought someone along with me. I hope it's no trouble, especially since Trin already knows her."

"Trin-nee-san," Yori called into the apartment while stepping in next to Kim and also standing next to Ron.

"Yori-chan? Yori-chan is that you? You know that airheaded sempai of yours was telling me that you're dating Ron, but I thought he was just doing drugs again," Trin remarked as she came over to join the greeting.

"Oh, sempai already told you that I am dating Ron-kun? Um…you are not angry, are you?" Yori asked in a quiet, almost shy manner while eyeing the floor.

Trin appeared thoughtful for a moment, which was all the time that Joss needed to take in what she was hearing. Ron was dating the Asian woman standing next to him? Joss was pretty sure that all of her vital organs dropped into her feet and she felt like she was going to vomit.

The young teen did not stick around for anything. She bolted for her room, slamming the door extremely hard. She earned curious looks from everyone, but Kim was the only one that thought to approach the room and did.

--------------

Next time: Joss throws another tantrum and this time says something that everyone is almost certain will get Trin to kill her.


	7. Two steps back

I don't own these characters; Disney does. I do own Trin and Tatsu, though.

7: Two steps back

"It's no good. She's not coming out," Kim announced to the group as she stepped away from the door that led to Joss' room. The younger teen had escaped into the room moments ago for reasons unknown and obviously Kim had gone after her—mostly because the other ladies were not in the mood to give into Joss' tantrum.

"Well, let's not let that spoil the visit," Trin replied, and then she turned her attention back to Yori and Ron. She motioned toward the living room for them to go and sit down. The couple did not need anything more than that and made themselves comfortable in the common area.

"So, Trin-neesan, are you truly all right with my dating Ron-kun?" Yori inquired curiously with hope shining in her jet black eyes. Everyone knew that there was a fifty-fifty chance of Trin shattering that hope like a rock through a glass window.

"I suppose. Shin informed me how he found out about you two and I can't say I approve of that, but as far as I know, Ronald is an upstanding young man with only a few character flaws withstanding," Trin replied as if the whole matter bored her.

"Sorry about that," Ron apologized with a blush. "But, I promise I haven't done that since!" he adamantly declared. He knew that the blonde's opinion mattered a lot to his girlfriend and he wanted to be on Trin's good side to maintain his relationship. He also knew that he had to stay on her good side to maintain his best friendship.

"You'd better not have," Trin stated with a glint in her eye that he was very familiar with. He laughed nervously and glanced at Kim to save him. She smiled and had no problem jumping in.

"Oh, Yori, you haven't met Shego and Tatsu yet, have you?" the redhead inquired while motioning to her girlfriend and then to her sister's girlfriend.

There were the rounds of introductions. Yori expressed happiness and pride to meet the sisters' girlfriends, not showing any sign of nervousness or anxiety from meeting the women. She also made sure that they knew that she had heard a lot about them from Shin. She smiled all the way through speaking with them, clearly enjoying the fact that she remembered so much about them and was able to tell them.

Trin mused that it seemed like Yori had spent her whole life around lesbians, which was very reassuring. It helped soothe the blonde a bit, reminding her that she meant a lot to Yori, enough for the ninja to be comfortable with things that she was very much not used to. She was also silently thankful that Shin had spoken to Yori about their girlfriends.

"Where is Shin-sempai?" Yori asked curiously while scanning the apartment. There was no sign of her mentor.

"He's spending the summer with his boyfriend," Trin answered.

"May God have mercy on Booker's soul," Shego remarked with a hearty laugh.

"So, Shin really is gay, huh?" Ron asked as if he had not thought such a thing was possible. Really, he had thought it was an act just for Shin to come across more insane than he already did and bring more attention to himself. Sometimes, Shin's flamboyant behavior just seemed a little _too_ over the top.

"With him dating Booker we might be able to argue otherwise," Shego joked, earning laughs from all of those that had seen Booker.

The atmosphere lightened because of that and they were able to have a good conversation, everyone just catching up on each other. Tatsu was expectedly silent, even when Yori tried to learn more about her; Yori wanted to know everything about "Trin-neesan's" lover. Tatsu was her usual, mumbling, evasive self.

"Trin, I didn't know you knew Yori," Kim commented, trying to save Tatsu now by shifting Yori's direct attention.

"Yes, that secret ninja school that no one is supposed to know anything about is one of the many places that Shin trained. He was Yori's sempai," Trin answered.

"Yeah, well, that explains how he knows her, but not you. Outsiders aren't welcomed and all of that. I remember," Kim pointed out.

The blonde Possible smiled a little and shrugged. "We always look at rules as mere suggestions and following them sometimes are merely formalities. There was little consideration of those suggestions. The world is very small, though. Yori-chan dating Ron…"

"Believe it or not, Trin-neesan, Ron is a master of monkey kung-fu and is studying ninjitsu at Yamanouchi. Perhaps one day you would like to spar with him. You may inform me if I teach as well as sempai," Yori requested with a brilliant smile. Her eyes practically implored that Trin spare with Ron and Trin was already considering the request thanks to that look.

"Whoa! I don't think I'm that good yet!" Ron objected with a nervous laugh while flailing his arms in front of him, as if trying to wipe that request right out of the air. Was Yori trying to get him murdered, his mind demanded to know.

"Why? Trin-neesan is a very good sparring partner. I used to spar with her all of the time and I am sure that Kim-san did the same," Yori said while motioning to the redhead, who nodded in confirmation.

"Well, she's your sisters," Ron argued with a nervous laugh.

"Sisters?" Tatsu echoed in a low voice while making sure to keep her interest in the floor obvious. She wondered if she had just been left out of the loop in something else in her beloved's life. Was Trin somehow related to Yori?

"Ron-kun, you shouldn't try to put in the same category with Kim. Trin-neesan is my close sempai, but she is Kim's sister," the Japanese woman countered. She was very close to Trin, but she did not like being put on the same level of Kim, knowing that the redhead was extremely important and special to Trin in ways that no other woman could ever be.

The conversation strayed from sparring when Shego decided it was lunchtime and Trin needed to get to cooking; her exact words were much more colorful. In fact, her words were so colorful that Trin took a swing at her; it was a playful shot that Shego easily avoided. They ordered out instead of Trin cooking because the blonde did not normally make lunch and she was not going to change that just because Ron and Yori were visiting. It was not a surprise, despite how much Trin liked Yori.

"You still cook, Trin?" Ron asked curiously, not even thinking about how casually he was addressing the woman that he viewed as the anti-Christ. The atmosphere made it possible.

"I do, more often than I used to," she confirmed.

"Do you bake? I've been trying to find new recipes because I want to keep baking, but I haven't had any luck," Ron explained.

Trin started naming some of the international baked goods while Ron listened, taking mental notes for everything that she said. Kim smiled to herself, seeing how Ron was interacting with her big sister. She hoped that it was the start of a new relationship for them since she knew that Trin really did love Ron, but Ron stopped noticing it at some point in his life.

Shego was able to engage Yori in conversation, mostly trying to find out what the hell the ninja saw in Ron. Yori appeared more amused than insulted and easily ran through all of Ron's admirable attributes and the things that she liked about him, which were things that she knew made most people view him as a bit of a dork. Shego was still baffled over the appeal; secretly, Tatsu was in agreement with Shego from what she was hearing about Ron.

Kim went to check on Joss when the food arrived. She knocked on the door. "Joss, lunch is here," she called through the door.

"Not hungry," Joss grumbled loud to be heard by her cousin.

"Are you sure?" Kim pressed in a worried tone. She wanted the younger woman to join them. She seemed to be getting along great with everyone for the past couple of weeks and she wanted that to continue. It was nice to know her cousin did not hate her, after all.

"Yes, now leave me alone," Joss ordered in a harsh tone.

Kim stepped back from the door for a moment and had the brief thought of kicking it down. The thought was quickly banished from her head as she realized her chest hurt. That familiar ache of family rejection spread through her torso like venom, constricting her breathing and paining her muscles. She retreated back into the safety of the living room.

"Kimmie, you okay?" Shego asked curiously as her girlfriend sat down next to her.

"I'm fine," Kim replied in a low voice while reaching for a slice of pizza. They had ordered a couple of pizza pies because Ron said it had been a while since he had any; Yori had only had pizza once in her life, so that settled it.

"What did Joss say to you?" Trin inquired as she cut her eyes toward the door that hid Joss from the world.

"Nothing, nothing. She just doesn't want to be bothered right now for whatever reason," Kim answered in a dismissive tone. A light flick of her wrist caused her hand to wave everything off and the other hand held her pizza securely. She leaned into her girlfriend as she started to eat, seeking comfort in the warm, firm body next to her.

"She's pissed that Ron showed up here with a girlfriend," Shego teased, laughing a bit as she grabbed her own slice.

"Oh, right. Joss does have that crush on you, Ron," Kim said and she actually felt just a little better about herself. Joss was not upset with her, but with the fact that Ron had a girlfriend; she mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Joss has a crush on me?" Ron was incredulous and the fact that he asked that before eating his slice added to it. He was craving pizza, but he really wanted to know more about this crush thing first.

"Yeah, she's got a thing for you. She made you a website and everything," the hero explained to her best friend.

"Boo-ya! Soon I'll have as many hits as you," Ron cheered with a grin.

There was a small round of laughter and things with Joss seemed to be forgotten. They continued on their conversation and finished the pizzas. Afterward, Ron checked his watch and figured that they needed to get going since they did want to make it to Middleton before dark.

"You'll make it with plenty of sunlight to spare," Kim pointed out.

"Unless of course he's going to Middleton via the coastline. Ronald, Yori, where were you for this to be a stop on a trip to Middleton?" Trin inquired in a bland tone.

"We're just sort of on a road trip. We got time off from training and I figured I would show Yori as much of the United States as I could since she showed me as much of Japan as she could the last time we had a break," Ron explained.

The Possibles nodded; both approving of that idea. Ron grinned; his expression was somewhere between proud and sheepish. Yori smiled too and she took Ron's hand.

"Let me go see if Joss wants to at least say goodbye to you," Kim said and she went back to the young teen's room for a third time. "Joss, Ron is leaving, so if you want to talk to him or say goodbye or anything, you have to come do it now," she informed Joss.

"I don't care," Joss answered with a huff.

"Joss, come on! Stop being such a baby and come out here and give Ron a proper goodbye instead of throwing a tantrum," Kim snapped with a little edge in her voice.

"I'm not being a baby and I don't want to talk to him! So get the hell away from my door, you goddamn queer!" Joss replied.

Kim backed away as if she had been shot. She turned to see if anyone else heard the outburst, but saw that everyone was centered by the front door and too far to hear the shout. She swallowed down all of the hurt and pain caused by her cousin's tone and words before she went back over to the group. She smiled brightly before saying anything.

"The brat didn't want to come out?" Shego inquired when Kim returned, standing close to her in a way that Shego knew that she needed to put her arm around the redhead's waist. The green-skinned woman knew "the brat" had done something to her girlfriend again. She started to wonder if she was going to have to put Joss over her knee for her to start acting civilized.

"No, she's still throwing a tantrum, just like you guys said," the hero answered with a sheepish grin and shrug.

"No big," Shego remarked.

"Yeah, we could just spin by here again when we're done with the road trip. Joss might be willing to talk to me by then. I hope she kinda gets over it," Ron said with rubbing the back of his neck in an embarrassed manner. Yes, it was flattering for a girl to like him, but he was very committed to Yori and would never do anything to jeopardize his relationship with her, especially with Joss. After all, she was way too young and she was a Possible for crying out loud! He would like to be friends with Joss, but that was about it.

"Trust me, you're not all that," Trin deadpanned.

"Trin," Kim scolded her sister.

"Really, I only said it to beat Shego from saying it. No sense in her having the last line now is there?" the blonde smirked at Shego like the demon most people believed she was. Shego just gave Trin the finger.

Goodbyes were said, taking almost an half-hour for Ron and Yori to make it out of the door. There were invitations extended to both of them to come back soon from the Possible sisters; Trin only mentioned Yori in her invitation. When the couple was gone, back their life on the road for the summer, eyes of the apartment residents turned to the closed door of Shin's room.

"Let's just leave her to sulk. We can watch a movie or something," Shego suggested.

"Shego, I think you just used up your one good thought you were allotted in life," Trin commented.

Shego growled and made a fist, but she noticed Kim watching her. She sighed and shrugged, giving up for the moment. They all did flop down onto the sofa and began to watch a movie that they let Kim pick, which meant that three of them would be bored to tears. Shego chased the boredom away by drawing invisible lines on Kim's thigh with her index finger. Trin and Tatsu passed the time wondering why they were sitting on opposite ends of the sofa instead of curled up together like Kim and Shego. They never came up with an answer and remained where they were.

They watched a second movie, which was more suitable for all of their tastes. This helped Trin and Tatsu chase off some unwanted thoughts, but it was not enough. Eventually, Trin tore herself off the couch, silently deciding that it was time to start making dinner and get away from the tangible rift between her and her sweetheart.

Kim watched her sister leave, noting the tension in her every step. She glanced at Tatsu, thinking that mechanic would be on her feet in an instant, trying to find out what was wrong with Trin, but that was not the case. Tatsu did not move from her spot, staring blankly at the television from the edge of the couch. Her brow was wrinkled slightly from her own tension while her eyes made it seem like nothing was happening in her head, nothing at all.

The redhead was about to say something, but she was not sure what to say. She knew that there was something going on with her sister and Tatsu, but she was not sure if it was her place to address it. Shego pulled Kim closer to her before the hero could open her mouth.

"Let them work it out on their own, Pumpkin," Shego whispered before stealing a kiss.

Kim nodded and focused back on the movie. She did not move until dinner was done and she took it upon herself to go get Joss. She knocked on the door and braced for impact.

"Goddamn it! Didn't I say I don't want to talk to any of you queers! Stop bothering me! I'm sick of all of you!" Joss hollered.

"Dinner—" Kim tried to explain while swallowing down the hurt that came from being screamed at by someone who just last year wanted to be exactly like her and just a day ago was thinking about majoring in mathematics like her.

"I don't want dinner from deviants!" Joss replied.

"Now, just a second!" Kim said, letting her righteous indignation finally take over. She tried to open the door, only to find that it was still locked. She did not let that stop her, though, and just kicked in the door.

Joss, shocked by the turn of events, sat up in bed and glared at Kim like the redhead was the worst person on Earth. Kim felt that for some reason, Joss did think that she was the worst person on Earth. She wondered what happened between last night and now to cause such a change.

"I don't know what crawled up your ass, but I'm not going to let you just say anything that you want!" Kim proclaimed, feeling some sense of pride coming back because she knew that she did not deserve any of the hostility coming her way from her cousin.

Joss flinched for a moment and then shot up off of the bed. She stormed over to Kim, keeping sharp eye contact with the hero. A hurricane raged in Joss' dark, deep green eyes.

"What crawled up my ass is having to stay with four sexual perverts because they ruined my home and ranch and my dad couldn't afford to send me to stay in the dorms with normal people! Instead, I have to say with three sociopaths who might rape me in the middle of the night, and who have already fucked up your head! You don't even realize how totally screwed up you really are! You let them take you into a world where you're going to start touching kids and probably fuck animals!"

"Just because I love a woman doesn't make me a deviant," Kim huffed with a determined glare in her eyes.

"Yes, it does! You're a weirdo, just like your sister!" Joss declared.

Kim felt another stab of pain tear through her body. She lurched as if she had been hit in the stomach and she felt like she might throw up. She opened her mouth to say something—_anything!_—to defend her sister, but her mouth refused. Her mind decided, _fuck words!_ Joss needed a lesson that only a foot in the ass could teach, but Kim's foot was not cooperating with that idea. Instead, her body trembled with indecision.

"What the hell is going on over here?" Trin demanded to know as she blazed over to the scene like a forest fire. She would be damned if she was going to let anyone talk to her little sister like that!

"Nothing, just trying to set Kimmie straight on a few things," Joss sneered.

"You're not going to be in my home, saying whatever the hell comes to mind to my sister just because your little crush went and got himself a grown girlfriend," Trin snapped while folding her arms across her chest, set for battle it would seem.

Joss rose to the challenge set before her and snarled. "You're going to come in here and try to play the hero? You're the one that did this to Kim! She was perfectly normal and I bet she would've stayed that way if you weren't her sister!"

Trin rolled her eyes. "You've been listening to your grandmother too much, little girl. Why don't you take a moment to act your age and we can talk this out like we have working brains?"

Joss scoffed. "Don't try to act all superior! You think you're hot shit because you get such great grades and you're in this brilliant program, but you're only trying to cover up the fact that you're nothing! You're just the abandoned child of drug addicts with a stupid girlfriend that you're not even smart enough to make happy! That's all you'll ever be! You're not a Possible, you're just a mistake! A mistake and a monster that no one wants around, not even your own idiot girlfriend!"

A lump clogged Trin's throat and her heart contracted in on itself. She tried her best to tell herself that those words did not affect her, did not bother her, but the acidic burning that felt like it expanded from her soul belied that fact. She knew the words that she had just heard were the feelings of the entire Possible family, excluding her mother, father, siblings, and Uncle Slim. That was how the Possible clan thought of her.

Adding to that insult, Joss dared to notice the troubles that she was having with Tatsu and threw them in her face. Her body tensed to the point that a vein in her neck was visible and throbbing. _How dare this little bitch say anything about my relationship?! How did this little bitch call my baby stupid?! _

"Trin…" Kim said when she saw how badly her sister was shaking. "She's our cousin, Trin," the redhead reminded her sister. "She's only fourteen years old…"

Shego and Tatsu stood in the background, certain that they were about to witness a murder. They were trying to figure out the perfect place to hide a body and mentally working on alibis while waiting for Trin to wail on the youngest Possible like she had never done before.

Joss shrank just a little as Trin's body flexed and her hand lifted into the air. The blonde let out a primal, animalistic scream, and then shocked the whole apartment. She turned and fled out of the door, slamming it as hard as possible in her wake, knocking several pictures off of the walls.

"Trin!" Tatsu called instinctively and rushed to the door, trying to follow her lover. By the time she hit the front door of the building, she could already see Trin's car disappearing down the block. "Damn it…" She pulled at her hair, wondering what the hell just happened. She had never seen Trin run from a challenge like that and she had never expected that Trin would not run to her if a shoulder was needed. She was supposed to be there for Trin. _I really am useless…_

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Next time: Trin runs to the only person she thinks can help while Kim and Shego hold Tatsu back from getting to Joss. Special guest: Trin's birth mother.


	8. Miracle

I don't own these characters; Disney does. Okay, I do own Trin and Tatsu.

A/N: Some events referenced in this chapter go back to the story "Underdogs" in case you want to go back and refresh your memory.

8: Miracle

"You didn't have any right to talk to her like that!" Tatsu barked as she stormed back into the apartment, zeroing right in on Joss. The look in her cold blue eyes was definitely one of bloody murder, but Joss did not seem to recognize the gaze because she did not make a move to escape the area. She was about to rip into the young teen, take her apart piece by piece, but was held back by Kim. "Lemme go, Trin-clone!" she snarled, voice laced with rage and eyes clouded by pain and hatred.

"I can't let you kill my cousin!" Kim replied while struggling with the wild mechanic, who was putting her all into getting to Joss. Shego had to come in and help, even though she really just wanted to let Tatsu go and do the job that Trin was not able to do. Someone needed to teach Joss that she could not say whatever outrageous thing came to mind because life was not going perfect for her.

"Then your cousin needs to watch her fucking mouth! She comes in here, takes all that she can like a fucking baby and throws a goddamn tantrum like she knows shit and then expects that no one is going to fucking beat her ass!" Tatsu growled like an enraged beast, hot, angry tears gathering in her eyes. She was going to kill that fucking kid if Joss just cost her Trin!

"Tatsu, hurting Joss isn't going to fix anything! She's just as upset as the rest of us!" Kim pointed out.

"I don't give a fuck! Being upset doesn't give her a right to hurt Trin!" Tatsu bellowed, trying to claw her way to the fourteen-year-old.

"I've got to say, this is the most energy I've ever seen out of this sloth," Shego remarked while trying her best to yank Tatsu down to the ground and keep the mechanic pinned there. She was getting a good idea of how strong Tatsu really was; the mechanic's muscles were not for show, apparently.

"What do you even care? She doesn't like you anymore than the rest of us," Joss sneered at Tatsu, speaking as if she knew everything that was going on with everyone.

"AH!" Tatsu tried to take a dive at Joss, wanting to just beat the living shit out of the teenager.

Kim and Shego managed to drag Tatsu to the floor, piling on her, keeping her from attacking Joss. Kim then turned to glare at her cousin, who had the nerve to be standing as if a bolt of lightning could not hurt her. Kim could not believe her eyes.

"Go in the room before she gets loose!" Kim ordered with a fire in her eyes. Hell, she was tempted to just get off of Tatsu right now and let the mechanic have a go at the kid!

Joss, finally sensing the danger that she stirred up, retreated to her room. Kim and Shego remained on Tatsu until they heard the door shut. As soon as they got off of her, Tatsu rushed the door and punched it as hard as she could. They were surprised that her hand did not go through the door.

"Little bitch!" Tatsu roared at the door. Blood dripped from her battered hand, showing just how hard she had hit the wood.

"Tatsu, please, just leave her alone," Kim pled, but she did not go anywhere near Tatsu. She knew that the mechanic was not going to want her close, not after she just stood in the way of Tatsu getting revenge for her lover.

Suddenly, Tatsu did something more shocking than trying to attack Joss. She slid to the floor and tears started flowing from her eyes. Her shoulders shook with the subtle hint of weeping and low noises escaped her, sounding anguished and tormented. Kim and Shego stood back, looking on in stunned silence. They looked at each other, waiting for the other to say something.

"Tats…" Shego started, but she ceased. She did not like dealing with crying people! One of the great things about hanging out with this crew was the low crying/whining factor!

"She's gonna leave me. I just know it. What made me think I could have a fucking beauty queen? She's gonna leave me…" Tatsu bailed, speaking aloud, but to herself. She sounded so helpless and small that it broke Kim's heart.

"Tatsu, sis loves you more than anyone ever before and you know that. Why would you think that she's going to leave you?" Kim managed to ask.

"She is. It's coming," Tatsu mumbled as she picked herself up off of the floor. "Sorry I acted so stupid…"

"Tatsu, it's okay. I promise you that Trin isn't going to leave you. She would never—" Kim did not get a chance to finish as the mechanic held up her hand to cut the hero off.

"She will. She has to," Tatsu replied with such grim finality that Kim's heart stopped and broke all over again. Tatsu took the moment of silence as a chance to retreat into Trin's bedroom.

The mechanic threw herself on the bed, inhaling deeply to allow her senses to be assaulted by the heavenly scent of her beloved. She was so certain that she would never smell that wonderful aroma again that she wanted to get her fill now. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought that the world as she knew it was coming to an end. For her, the world was coming to an end.

"Never a dull moment around here," Shego muttered to herself while shaking her head.

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Trin drove on autopilot, nothing in the outside world registered to her brain. Her mind was whirling like a spinning top. How had her relationship gotten so bad that a pest like Joss was able to see the cracks in it? Things had to be just short of disastrous if a fourteen-year-old that barely knew her could see that she and Tatsu were having problems. And then to make it worse, Joss had to throw it right in her face like a glass of acid. And, oh, did it burn, all the way through her heart and into her soul.

Then, to pile it all on, she had to be reminded that the Possible family thought that she was a deviant, a criminal, and probably Satan's spawn, despite the fact that she had never done anything to them. God, all she ever wanted was a family that loved her for who she was, but even the Possibles could not find it in themselves to love her. If her family could not love her, how could she expect Tatsu to love her? She was nothing more than a trinket, to be used and thrown away.

Such thoughts roared through her mind all the way through her trip to nowhere. It was not until she saw the familiar "Welcome to Middleton" sign did she realize where her instincts were taking her. She drove up to her parents' house, but noticed that there was only one car in the driveway, so she did not stop. She knew exactly where she had to go.

--------------

The sterile smell and white walls slammed into Trin's system when she stepped through the hospital doors. The emotions and feelings that ripped through her were a mix for a moment. Her last few trips to hospitals did not hold good memories, but they did not conquer the years of wonderful memories that Trin had coming to the hospital to watch her mother work, healing not just broken bodies, but minds, souls, and families. _My mother—the miracle worker_.

Flashing smiles and kind greetings came Trin's way as hands pointed her where they all knew she needed to be. She smiled her thanks to all the helpful staff. She found her mother standing in a room with a chart in her hands. Trin entered, not realizing that the neurosurgeon was in with a patient.

"Oh, sorry, Mom," Trin said when she saw the little body in the hospital bed.

Anne's head whipped up at the sound of her eldest child's voice. A bright smile quickly took over her face and she wrapped her daughter into a loving hug. Trin sighed as she returned the embrace, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders for a little while. They then stepped away from each other, playfully sizing each other up.

"What are you doing here?" Anne inquired, still smiling so brightly that the sun was going to be jealous when it rose in the morning.

"I wanted to see you. I didn't realize you were working late tonight, though. I drove by the house and didn't see your car, so I knew you had to be here. Who's this?" Trin countered and then she turned to see the patient fully.

The blonde then felt like she was smacked in the face when she caught sight of who was lying in bed. The soft, cherubic face of the ebony-haired boy was too familiar. She knew exactly where she had seen him from.

"Mom, is this your patient?" Trin said, forgetting that she already asked who he was.

"Yes, this is my patient. Eight years old with a brain tumor," Anne answered and shook her head slightly in despair.

"Is he…?" Trin could not even finish the question. The words just could not work their way around the lump in her throat. Her eyes stayed focused on his tanned cheeks, dark from playing outside in the sun and his Greek heritage, from his father's side.

Anne blinked, sensing her daughter's curiosity for the boy himself and not for knowledge about medical procedure. Usually, when Trin asked about patients, she was only looking to learn more about medicine, but this time was different and that was clear from the look in her eyes. Anne considered that it might be because the boy was so young.

"The tumor is operable," Anne stated.

"So, when will you operate?" Trin asked, not realizing that her voice was not the calm, monotone that it typically was.

"That is a good question, my dear. One I do not have the answer to yet."

A pale forehead wrinkled. "Why not?"

"Right now, things are proving my profession is more a business than anything else."

"Insurance problems?" Trin guessed with a slight frown. Anne nodded and blue eyes focused on the sleeping child. Trin shook her head.

"But, I'm sure you didn't travel all this way to talk about my patient," Anne commented, purposely changing the subject because of the troubled look in her daughter's eyes, a different trouble from the one that was there when she came in.

"No, I didn't," the blonde answered in a nearly distracted tone while focusing on the boy again. Was cancer in her family history? She did not know and it had not occurred to her that it might be there because she rarely even caught colds. There was so much that she did not know, she realized.

"Trin, I'm sure there's a reason that you came to see me," Anne stated, trying her best to get the conversation away from a topic that was obviously bothering Trin.

"Yes, there is. It can wait until later. I'll catch you at home," the blonde said, suddenly realizing that she needed to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

The doctor nodded. "That sounds like a reasonable idea."

Trin nodded too and turned away from the still figure in the bed. Just as she was leaving the room, she bumped shoulders with a blonde woman that was entering. Trin clearly apologized, but did not lift her head. She continued walking as the woman stopped and stared at her back.

"Excuse me?" the woman called after Trin, but Trin did not bother to stop. The woman's brow furrowed as she turned around and went into the room.

"Mrs. Miklos, you really should go home and get some sleep," Anne said to the frazzled blonde woman.

"I can't. Could you sleep if this was your son in bed?" the woman countered as her eyes settled on the bed of the sleeping child.

Anne let loose a small, sorrowful smile. "I suppose you have me there."

"Who was the young lady that just left? She looked familiar to me."

Anne's eyes drifted back down to the chart in her hands, trying to get back into her professional mode, but found it a little difficult now. "That was my daughter. She used to come around the hospital a lot when she was younger, but now that she's all grown up and in college, I'm lucky to see her on the holidays," she explained with a fond smile.

The blonde woman, Mrs. Miklos, nodded and an even more sorrowful expression overcame her face. "I have a daughter too. She's probably in college and everything now."

"Oh, really?" Anne asked as she looked up while placing the chart back where it belonged. She fixed her eyes on the worried mother before her and noticed something for the first time. She blinked hard, but then shook it away, thinking the notion that had just entered her mind was more than likely due to the back that she was seeing two blondes of similar heights back to back.

"Yeah. She doesn't keep in touch…" Mrs. Miklos sighed and hung her head.

"That's too bad."

"It would hurt so much to lose another one…" Mrs. Miklos murmured as she turned her tired, pale blue eyes back to her sleeping son.

"I promise you, that will not happen. This time next month the only thing he'll be complaining about is the haircut we have to give him," Anne vowed with a warm smile.

Mrs. Miklos could not help smiling in return. "Thank you so much, Doctor Possible. What a time for 'Dros to get laid off, huh?"

"It happens to the best of us, but I didn't become a doctor to haggle over prices. I'm here to save lives and I will save his. He made me promise to do this so he can catch the fishing trip with his father and brother."

Mrs. Miklos laughed and nodded. "They do all love to fish. I honestly don't understand the charm in fishing." There was a moment of silence and a thought raced across her mind. "Doctor Possible, what's your daughter's name?"

"Hmm? Well, I have two. The elder one, that's the one that just left, her name is Trin and my other daughter is Kim."

"Trin?" Mrs. Miklos echoed. "It's a strange name."

"It's unique. Much like she is and she loves it." Anne now found herself curious. "What's your daughter's name?"

"My daughter? I named her Trinket, but she never did like the name much."

The redhead nodded and steered the conversation away from daughters because it was causing a discomforting sensation to scratch its way through her. She did not even want to think about that right now. Her mind was having trouble letting go of a disturbing idea all its own, though. She needed to stay focused if she was going to save the little boy in bed, so she forced herself to stop thinking about anything beyond her job as a doctor.

--------------

Anne came home well past midnight, expecting the house to be asleep. Trin surprised her by being in the kitchen, waiting with two mugs of tea at the table. Anne eased in, sitting opposite her daughter. Trin slid one of the mugs over to the tired doctor.

"It's peppermint," the blonde said in a low voice.

"Thank you." Anne sipped the hot liquid and relaxed.

"Mom," Trin's voice remained low and sounded just a little shaky. "Are you sure that little boy is going to be okay?"

Anne's gaze drifted into her tea. "If I can get in there sometime soon, he'll be fine."

"How is it that he doesn't have any insurance? Don't his parents have jobs?"

"His father was laid off from work not too long ago, so they lost that insurance. His mother's job…well, her insurance won't be able to cover this operation. He will be fine, though," she tried to assure her daughter.

"Mom…I'm going to say something right now and I need you to not ask me any questions. Just answer one simple question for me and then go right along with my words," Trin instructed the older woman. She was going beyond pleading right now, confusing her poor mother.

Anne's eyes showed that her mind was going a mile-a-minute, trying to keep up with her daughter, but she was not having much luck. "What?"

"How much would it cost?"

Anne blinked. "Trin, you can't—" She was cut off.

"How much would it cost?"

The doctor sighed and tried not to think about how strange her night was. She indulged Trin and was not surprised to see her daughter write out a check for the necessary amount. Trin slid the slip of paper to her mother.

"Are you sure you can afford this?" Anne inquired.

Trin sighed and looked away. "Mom, I asked you not to ask questions."

Anne nodded. "Fine, but I know you didn't drive all of this way just to donate money for a stranger's surgery. Tell me, sunshine, what's wrong?"

Trin chuckled and wiped away tears that were building in her eyes. It had been so long since her mother called her "sunshine" and it felt so good to hear; it was like a weight being lifted off of her soul. Someone did love her, she thought.

"Mom…I think…well, Tatsu is going to leave me. She's just…not happy with me," Trin said, her eyes now fixed on her tea.

"What do you mean she's unhappy with you? What makes you say that?" Anne asked in a gentle tone.

"It's just become so obvious now. Before she wouldn't let me touch her, but now she won't touch me or even look at me. God, there's enough space between us in bed now, I could park the car there! At first, I thought it might be because of Joss, but that doesn't explain why she won't talk to me or look at me. Sometimes I just feel like she's so disgusted with me," the blonde answered, tears sliding down her cheeks and nose. A few tears dripped into her tea.

"Aw, sunshine, don't cry," Anne cooed as she reached over and took her daughter's hand. She held onto tight, reminding her daughter that someone was there for her.

"I just love her so much, Mom! I don't understand how I could keep her around. I don't have much to offer anyone. I mean, the people that created me didn't even want me! Most of my extended family hates me! Why would Tatsu love me if my family can't even love me?" Trin bawled.

The doctor quickly got up and moved to sit next to her weeping daughter. She embraced the blonde and let the younger woman lean into her. Trin cried into her mother's shoulder while seeking out the heat and security of the only mother she had never known.

"Have you talked about any of this with Tatsu?" Anne asked in a quiet voice.

Trin sniffed and shook her head. "I'm so scared, Mom…"

"Trin, it's worse to not talk about it. You'll never know if you don't talk about it. It's possible that Tatsu is scared too. I remember when you got out of the hospital and you stayed here, Tatsu never left your side. Whenever she was with you, the look in her eyes always contained love, but after you got out of the hospital there was worry. She worries about you, Trin."

"Then why won't she touch me anymore? Why won't she look at me? Maybe she does love me, but my lifestyle is starting to wear on her. I almost got her killed not to long ago!" the blonde pointed out.

"Sweetheart, you didn't do that. It wasn't your fault anymore than it was our fault for hurting you. Those were the circumstances and Tatsu understands that. I really think you need to talk to her before you assume that she doesn't love you or anything close to that. I've seen you two together and I think that you two are made for each other," Anne stated while resting her head against her daughter's.

"What if she tells me that she doesn't love me anymore? I'll die, Mom! I'll die right there on the spot!"

"Sweetheart, I honestly doubt that will be her answer. I promise you if you talk to her things will be better for you. Even if she does tell you that she doesn't want to be with you, it will be better than torturing yourself with the uncertainty of it all. You'll feel much better and you won't die. Besides, can anything hurt more than what's happening now?"

Trin sniffled again. "I doubt it. This hurts so much…" she whimpered. It hurt everywhere too, all the time. She was tired of feeling this way.

"I know it does. That's why you need to talk to her before anything else. Everything will work out, sunshine. I promise you that much."

"Why don't people love me, Mom? Why is that no one ever wants me?" the blonde mumbled.

Anne sighed. "You know that's not true. We love you very much. As for others…well, your birth parents, I'm sure you know by now they had problems. Not everyone comes prepared to be parents, sunshine."

"But, why couldn't they love me? You and Dad love me. Why is it that Dad's family hates me? Hell, your family hates me too. What did I ever do them?" Trin bawled. Why did it seem like her being born was just a mistake?!

The redhead hugged her daughter around the shoulders. "Now, now, you know how your Dad's family is and you know how my family is. They're all elitist in some shape or form. They're close-minded. But, you know that when people give you a chance, they love you with all their hearts. We love you like that. Shin and your aunt and uncle love you like that. Your Uncle Slim loves you. My parents think that you hung the moon in the sky. There are people that love you deeply. Tatsu is one of those people and if Joss ever opens her heart, she'll be one of those people, too."

"I don't care about Joss…" the blonde grumbled.

"I'm sure you don't mean that. She's your cousin and I know how you feel about family. Kim's been calling me and saying that Joss is getting better, much more friendly and seems to almost fit in with you all. Is that true?"

"Joss has been getting much better. She just let her mouth run away with her today after a visit from Ron," Trin explained.

"Is it something that you think she meant or something that you both just got caught up in the heat of the moment?" Anne asked.

Trin did not even need to think about it. "Heat of the moment."

"Then maybe she's another person you need to talk to. If you have been getting along, don't throw it all away on one upset moment. Your uncle would love for you to get along with Joss. You know how he adores you."

"I know, Mom."

"I think that you and Kim would be great for Joss too. I think that you would like to mentor her too because I'm sure you can see that she's not as bad as she seems," Anne pointed out. She knew that Trin would not have allowed Joss to stay for the summer if she did not seem a lot of potential in her little cousin.

"I suppose…" Trin sighed.

"So, what you need to do is get a good nights sleep and then go back home. You have some people that you need to talk to and clear the air with. Right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good girl." Anne hugged Trin around the shoulders again and kissed her soft, golden mane. Trin felt light on the inside.

--------------

Next time: Trin and Tatsu try to fix their problems, but the problem with Joss remains.


	9. One down

I don't own these characters; Disney does. I do own Trin and Tatsu.

9: One down…

Tatsu tossed and turned in the bed, which seemed huge when she had it all to herself. She felt like she was lying in the Pacific Ocean and was just waiting for a calm wave to swallow her whole, to take her away from everything, to cure all of her troubles by putting her to sleep forever.

Instead of the wave, darkness devoured every fiber of her being and every slip of her soul. When the night was chased away by the light things did not get any better for her. The brighter it got, the more it felt like it burned her spirit. The sun mocked her by her being high in the sky, shining for the world while forsaking her.

She heard the echo of Shego and Kim, but she could not be sure when that was. With the way she felt, it could have been seconds ago or it could have been years ago. The sounds faded, so she suspected that they left. Once again, she could not be sure of the time; she hoped that things were all right between them considering how upset Kim was last night. The one thing that she could be certain on was that her lover had not returned.

Trin had been missing the whole night and had not answered any calls…not that Tatsu was brave enough to make any. Kim had done all the calling and then reported back that Trin was not picking up. The mechanic thought that her anxiety was going to start pouring out of her pores if her lover did not return sometime soon.

"_What if something happened to her? I should get up and go look for her_," Tatsu told herself. She had said that to herself many times, but she had not been able to act on it. She did not know where to start looking, but now, she was just worried out of her mind. She was almost certain that she was about to worry herself sick or even to death, so it was time to start looking.

The mechanic finally managed to fling herself out of bed, taking a stumble while she was at it. She flopped, losing her balance and falling just short of the door, but not hitting the ground. A familiar pair of strong arms caught her. Ice blue eyes looked upward and met soft, sparkling tropical blue eyes.

"Trin…" Tatsu whispered. She hoped that she was not dreaming. She would not be able to take it if she was.

"Morning, baby. I can see you slept in," the blonde commented. It was the best thing that she could think to say at the moment. She was glad to find her brain, mouth, and vocal chords worked around her girlfriend. Those things would make talking so much easier.

"Couldn't sleep," the shorter woman admitted.

A smile tried to work its way onto Trin's face, but negative thoughts fought it off. Just because Tatsu could not sleep did not mean it had anything to do with her absence. Tatsu could have easily been kept awake wondering the best way to break things off with her.

"If you couldn't sleep, why are you still in bed?" Trin asked curiously while helping her lover to her feet.

Tatsu glanced away for a moment. "…Um…I…" She wondered if she should just confess, lay her cards out on the table and hope for the best. After all, Kim had spent most of the night attempting to convince her that she was crazy to think that Trin would ever break up with her.

"Baby, please, talk to me," Trin begged, a tearful look in her eyes. She knew her mother was right, the fear of not knowing had to be the worst thing for her. Her imagination was running wild with horrid thoughts, each one scarier than the last. Whatever her lover was going to say could not be worst than the fifty million things her brain was bombarding her with.

"Let's sit down," Tatsu suggested.

The blonde did not argue and allowed Tatsu to lead her over to the bed. They sat down, as far apart as possible without one of them being on the floor. They looked at each other and then looked at the space between them. Insides quivered and lips trembled as tense seconds ticked away. The pressure in the room was unbearable before a minute even passed and they both felt like they would explode. Tatsu broke first.

"Please, don't leave me, Trin! I can do so much better! You just…I just…I can get smarter and stronger! Just wait a little while, please!" Tatsu implored the blonde as tears welled up in two sets of blue eyes.

"Baby…" Trin inched closer to her girlfriend and took one of the mechanic's hands into her own, clutching Tatsu's hand so tightly that the mechanic would have winced if her mind was registering any pain. Trin looked her lover dead in the eye before speaking with a passion that surprised both of them. "I would never leave you! I never want to leave you! I thought that you wanted to leave me," Trin confessed, voice catching a little from the fear that her baby might still break up with her.

Tatsu's face went from sorrowful to bewildered in an instant. "Why would you think I would leave you? I'm the one with nothing to offer! I can't be the things you need. It's like I can't exist in your world…" she trailed off and sniffled. She could not believe that she was listing why her blonde bombshell should leave her, but she also could not believe that Trin thought that she would be the one to break things off.

"That's bullshit, Tatsu! You are my world! You're everything to me! Stop thinking about what other people have said to you. They don't know you. I want you with me, isn't that what counts the most? I love you!" Trin declared with fiery ardor. Her eyes were glazed over with deep emotion, her love pouring out in her gaze, igniting a spark that had been absent in recent days.

The mechanic burst out into a sob because she could feel the love that she had thought that she lost. Trin pulled her into a tight hug. Silence surrounded them, embracing and crushing them at the same time. Tatsu threw her arms around Trin and held on for dear life.

"Tatsu, what others think isn't what should count. I don't believe for a second that you're stupid, so you don't need to push yourself to be smarter just for me. Knowledge should be gained because it is wanted. You're already very intelligent, but you should keep growing for yourself. I like you just the way you are and what people say about you isn't true at all. You're the perfect one among us, baby. You're the person that keeps me together. I want us to stay together," Trin explained in a frightened whisper.

Tatsu nodded since that was what she wanted too. Part of her still could not believe that her blonde bombshell wanted to stay with her, though. "You want me, even though I can't protect you?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Who says you can't protect me?" Trin demanded to know incredulously.

"I was tricked by that bastard…!" Tatsu did not make any further than that. A pale finger to her lips silenced her.

"Baby, that wasn't your fault. You were actually an innocent bystander that got drawn into a mess that Shin and I concocted on our own, as usual. Tatsu, I just want you to be yourself for me. I love who you are, just like I want you to love who I am."

"I do, which is why I want us to stay together. I don't want you to leave me because I'm stupid or weak!" Tatsu pointed out, looking her lover in the eye to let her know just how serious she was.

"You're not those things, first of all. I want you to understand that, baby. You're very smart. The things you can do with cars, machines really, is pure genius. People that don't understand you just want to put you down…"

"You should know that too. People like your grandmother and your cousin. They don't understand you," the mechanic stated.

A sorrowful smile graced Trin's pale features. "We both have some insecurities, huh?"

"I guess…" Tatsu swallowed hard. "Should we be apart to work on those?"

The blonde stiffened. "I can't. I just can't do this without you, Tatsu. If you leave me now, I would be eaten alive by my insecurities. I want us to be as we were before and move forward too."

Tatsu felt her heart thump so loudly that she was sure her lover heard it too. "I want that too…Trin…um…" she trailed off again and looked down at the floor. A pale hand lifted her head back up, so that she was looking Trin in the eye again.

"Please, just ask me, baby. Anything. Ask me anything," the blonde begged.

"I closed the garage. I told everybody that it was closed…I want…I thought…" Tatsu growled. "I want to stay with you. I want to live…with you…"

Trin was sure that everything inside of her halted. Her breathing did stop, which caused Tatsu to consider her with worried eyes. The mechanic's face fell as she thought that she was being given her answer.

"I would love…I would love for you to live here, baby. I don't want you to change yourself for me, though. Are you sure this is what you want?" Trin asked in a tearful tone of her own.

"I want to move forward," Tatsu said, repeating her love's words back to her.

"I do too. If we live together, though, you have to promise me that we're going to be like we were. I want to touch you again, baby. I want to hold you, to kiss you, to make love to you again," the blonde stated in a strong tone.

Tatsu glanced away for a moment and smiled shyly. "I want those things too…"

"You hurt me so much when you wouldn't let me," Trin confessed with a sniffle.

Tatsu clutched onto Trin, holding her tightly, but also gently. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just thought that if I kept doing it to you, it would give you a reason to keep me around. You wouldn't have to keep giving to me. I would be able to give to you…"

"Baby, you do give to me, all the time. You help give my life meaning and you give me a reason to wake up in the morning. You know that I've never loved anyone like I do you and I don't want to. I want to grow old with you, so for that to happen, you have to believe that we are equals in this. We both give and take. That's how relationships are," Trin stated.

The mechanic nodded. "I'm sorry. I've just been on edge since that thing with your father—" she was quickly cut off.

"He's not my father!" Trin corrected her sharply.

Tatsu flinched. "I'm sorry!"

Trin's hug instantly tightened as she realized how scared her lover sounded. "Oh, god, baby, that was my fault. I'm sorry. This whole thing…almost losing you has me on edge. I'm sorry that I worried you before. I want us to work, so we have to get through this. That thing from before, it's the past. We were both hurt, but we have to come out of it stronger. You complete me."

"You complete me too. Trin, I love you so much and I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. What do we need to do to stay together?"

"We're doing it right now. We're talking about what's bothering us and we're being honest. We shouldn't keep things to ourselves, like our fear of losing each other, your thoughts of inequality, and my thoughts that I'm disposable. One steps at a time, baby. One step at a time." Trin placed a light kiss to each of Tatsu's cheeks.

Tatsu smiled and they finally shared a comfortable quiet. They remained hugged up and fell into a lying position. Tatsu smiled more when Trin did not complain about being on the bed spread with clothing that she wore outside. _One step at a time_.

--------------

Joss sat up in her bed, staring at her feet and wondering what the heavy weight that she was feeling inside was. She wondered why she wanted to get up, walk into the other room that she knew her cousin was in, and apologize for her behavior. She tried to tell herself that she should not care. She had only told them the truth, she mentally insisted. It was just the truth.

"They're deviants and perverts…" Joss mumbled into her forearms, which she was resting her face against. She had her arms tucked around her knees.

They were deviants and perverts that had been helping her with her homework, feeding her daily, and taking her places for her to get to know the city. She shook those thoughts away. These people were criminals, perverts, and evil. Her mother told her so, she reminded herself.

"But…" Joss started to say to herself, but she shook it all away.

It did not matter. She told them the truth and she should not feel bad about it. She was distracted from the thoughts by a knock on her door. She did not answer, hoping that whoever was there would just go away on her own. She did not want to say anything else, even if it was the truth.

The knocking faded and left Joss to her thoughts. Darkness and guilt consumed the room and the teen. The only thing that got through the barrier was the smell of breakfast, which also did not move her. She could hear voices outside, so it would seem that everyone else was fine without her.

"To hell with them…" Joss grumbled.

--------------

"The brat still sulking?" Shego inquired while cutting her short stack of four banana pancakes.

"Yup," Tatsu confirmed. She did not have to worry about cutting her pancakes as Trin was doing that for her. She showed her appreciation by pulling the blonde into her lap when she was done. She placed several light kisses to an inviting pale neck.

"You two look okay, though," Kim noted with a bright smile. She was so glad that they were back to normal. She really did not want to see anything happy to the couple since she knew just how happy Tatsu made her sister. Plus, she liked Tatsu and enjoyed having the mechanic around.

"We're trying, mini-me," Trin answered with a small smile of her own.

"That's good," Kim said with a nod.

"Yes, it is. How are you feeling, mini-me? I know your feelings have to be smarting from Joss' callous words." Concern sneaked into warm blue eyes.

"I'm fine," the redhead answered and did not go into anymore details.

Trin nodded to show that she understood. She glanced at Shego, who gave her the finger. That was all Trin needed to know and she turned her attention back to her girlfriend.

"You guys aren't going to get all lovey-dovey now, are you? I don't want to throw up on my pancakes," Shego remarked.

"I think we will be a little lovey-dovey. We have a lot of touching to catch up on," the blonde commented and she turned to kiss Tatsu. The couple exchanged a few sweet pecks on the lips. Tatsu did try to deepen a couple of the kisses, but Trin did not let her do.

"I would love to have Shego throw up, but I have a couple more things to prepare for breakfast to be complete," Trin pointed out.

Tatsu nodded and let her lover up. The blonde went into the kitchen and came back with small bowls of diced fruit for everyone. She also poured everyone a tall glass of their favorite juice before returning to Tatsu's lap. The mechanic smiled and wrapped one arm around Trin to secure her in place.

"You know, blondie, I think that you would rather do this fancy set-up shit in restaurants rather than your biochemistry shit," Shego commented. Kim stopped eating for a moment, just shocked that her lover was not saying something snide to her sister.

Trin shook her head. "Maybe one day, but for now, I would like to continue what I've been doing. Shin and I are working on new things for GJ right now and we've having fun with it. We have fun with stuff like that."

"Well, I know Shin likes almost killing himself. What do you like about it?" Shego asked curiously.

"Why? You want to be like me?" Trin teased, a taunting smirk fixed on her face.

"Fuck you, blondie. You wish you were that cool," the ex-thief commented while rolling her eyes.

The group fell into their usual routine for the weekend. They settled into the living room to watch movies and get into any schoolwork that needed to be done. Trin and Kim occasionally glanced toward a closed door. Tatsu and Shego could not help sighing, knowing just what was going through their lovers' minds.

"If you guys are worried about her, you can talk to her when she gets her head out of her ass," Shego stated. She really did not want to go through Kim trying to talk to Joss before the younger teen was ready and having Joss rip Kim to shreds again. It took a lot of work to put those pieces back together, after all.

"That probably would be for the best," Trin conceded.

Tatsu looked down at Trin, who was curled up in the mechanic's side in the armchair that they were sharing. Trin noticed and shrugged. Tatsu sighed again and ran her hand through her hair.

"Sorry, baby, but she's my little cousin. My favorite uncle's only daughter. I can't help caring," Trin explained with an apologetic half-smile.

The confession caught all three people present by surprise. They regarded Trin with wide eyes, looking at her as if she sprouted an extra head. She shrugged again. Tatsu did not say anything and just pulled Trin closer, silently supporting her in whatever she decided.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with blondie?" Shego demanded. "You're supposed to be the sensible Possible!"

"Shego, I'm sure you have family members that get on your nerves, but you still care about them," Trin argued.

"Four brothers," Kim chimed in with a smile. Shego growled and quickly covered her lover's mouth with her hand.

"There you have it. Maybe if this was a couple of weeks ago, I actually wouldn't care, but Joss was getting along with us much better for the past few days before Ron showed up. Besides, we know that her bitchiness this time was caused due to the fact that she had her heart broken. She doesn't know how to handle that, though. So, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt this one time to see what she does with it. If she wants to slap me in the face with it, then that's on her," Trin replied.

There was a moment of silence and then Shego surprised everyone by saying something. "Impressive, blondie."

Trin rolled her eyes while forcing down the urge to vomit because Shego had recognized her effort. She did smile a little when she noticed Kim smiling. Her smile widened when Tatsu kissed her ear, giving even more support.

"It's good to have family," Tatsu whispered in Trin's ear, which got her a nod.

The blonde knew that Tatsu was commenting on more than her effort with Joss. Tatsu recognized the group surrounding her at the moment was her family. Added to that, Shin was her family…like a very annoying brother. The Possibles were her family and Trin gave her that. She hugged Trin closer to her, enjoying the feel of their bodies pressed together.

"Love you," Tatsu whispered and kissed her girlfriend's ear again.

"Love you back," Trin replied.

"Oh, god, can we just watch the damn movie without you two spreading your love cooties!" Shego complained, dramatically throwing her arms up. Movie watching continued on.

--------------

Joss exited her bedroom when the apartment fell silent. She rushed to the bathroom, thankful that her bladder did not explode from holding it in all day. Once that was taken care of, she marched to the kitchen for something to eat. She opened the refrigerator and was greeted by a large plastic container with a card on top of it. The card was addressed to her. She removed the container and took it to the microwave. While her food heated up, she decided to read the card.

"Cousin, we know that life always seems hard at this age and you might think that you'll never feel the feelings that you had for Ron for anyone else. We promise you that's not true. Whenever you're ready to talk to us, we will be here. But, be warned, you can only push us away so far before we will be out of reach." The card was sighed from Trin and Kim.

Joss sighed and scratched her head. She stared into the microwave as the seconds went down. Suddenly, it felt like her insides were rebelling against her and trying to escape through her mouth. Her throat burned and her jaw trembled. Tears welled up in her eyes and she was not sure why. She wiped them away only for them to be replaced by others. She ended up crying into her dinner, a dinner she knew was made by Trin and probably saved for her by Kim, the two people her father trusted to look out for her. The two people that she had purposely hurt for no other reason than the fact that she was hurting. The two people that were still trying to connect with her.

"What should I do?" Joss asked the air.

--------------

Next time: Anne guest stars in the end.


	10. Growth

I don't own these characters; Disney does. Well, I do own Trin and Tatsu, but everybody else belongs to Disney.

10: Growth

The apartment was quiet and still. The apartment, usually the scene of more activity than most places, seemed lonely without the typical chaos. The sole occupant was on the couch with a laptop resting on her tanned legs. A wrinkled brow focused solely on the computer screen until a sigh escaped troubled lips. The frustrated expression could be blamed on the lonely feel of the apartment.

"I'm gonna hafta wait for them to come back. Trin knows how to do all of this stuff…" Joss muttered to herself. Of course, she had to work up the courage to ask Trin for help.

The young teen had not spoken much to her cousins since she ventured out of her room after the weekend was up. She interacted with them, but in a very limited manner. She treated them like lepers and they sort of returned the favor. She felt a tug inside of her, trying to urge her to do better, but she really did not know where to start and it did not seem like her cousins were going to meet her at that point. She had to make a move.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know why I even care," Joss said to the air. She did not know why the guilt was still eating at her. She knew that if things had been only weeks earlier, she really would not give a damn. Why was she so different now with her feelings?

She did not have the answer to that question; not something that she could put into words anyway. She just knew that she felt extremely bad and she missed her cousins, even though they were right there in the same home as she was. In fact, she felt worse whenever she looked at them and could not figure out what to say to them to make things better.

The sound of keys in the door got her attention and she looked up with some hope shining in her eyes. She thought that it might be one of her cousins, come to save her from the insanity that was her math homework. They would help and she considered that she might finally figure out a way to make her horrible feelings lessen or go away completely. She jumped when she saw that it was not one of her cousins or even one of their girlfriends.

"Aunt Anne, what're you doing here?" Joss asked as the neurosurgeon stepped out of the hallway into the living room.

"I'm here to see my daughters, but judging by the silence, I doubt they're here," Anne answered while slipping off her shoes at the door.

"No. Trin and Tatsu went grocery shopping. Kim had to run out to buy a book for class that she needs tomorrow," Joss explained in a near mumble, looking away as she spoke. She could not believe the shame that she felt in the presence of her cousins' mother. She could not understand the feelings since she knew this would not have happened not too long ago.

The doctor nodded. "Oh, so they should be back soon?"

"I suppose."

"Good." Anne took a sit in the armchair that was closest to the young woman. "So, Joss, what have you been up to?"

"Schoolwork," Joss answered while motioning weakly to the laptop in front of her.

"How's it going?"

"Challenging." More so than she expected. She did not mind the challenge, but she was being troubled by other things while she should have just had to focus on her schoolwork.

"I'm sure you're enjoying it then." The surgeon paused as her niece nodded. "I hope that your cousins are helping you where you need it."

Joss was quiet for a moment and her eyes drifted from the sofa to the floor. "They do…" she replied in a low tone.

"Do you like staying with your cousins, Joss?" Anne asked curiously. She supposed it was a blunt question, but she really did want to know. Right now, it did not seem like Joss was enjoying her stay and she did not see why Joss should have to stay with Trin and Kim if she did not like it. She would like to save all three younger ladies the pain that they could cause each other if the Montana girl did not like it there.

Joss ran her hand through her hair and turned perplexed green eyes to her aunt. "I dunno, Aunt Anne. I'm real confused." After admitting that, her eyes returned to the floor.

"What's to be confused about?"

"It's just…I didn't know what to expect from them and I still don't, especially with Trin. I don't understand your daughters," Joss answered, eyes remained glued to the floor.

"There's not much to understand, Joss. Have they been being good to you?"

"Yes," the teenager confirmed.

"Then why is it so confusing? Would you prefer that they treat you horribly or indifferently? They're your cousins and they do want to look out for you. So, what's so confusing?" Anne asked as she leaned forward to make sure that she did not miss the response.

Joss rubbed her head with both hands, trying to figure out how she should put things to her aunt. Her brow wrinkled as she searched her mind for the right words. "I just didn't think they would like me. I was pretty mean to Kim because she's queer and with Shego of all people. I mean, come on, Shego was like her arch nemesis and now they're dating! It's just crazy!"

Anne nodded, looking quite understanding. "It is rather wild, yes. But, has Shego done anything to you since you arrived that led you to believe that she's still the way that she used to be or that she's wrong for Kim?"

Silence reigned for a long moment. Joss' eyes moved, like she was searching the floor for an answer. "Shego…looks like she really cares about Kim. I thought maybe it was a trick, but looking at them, it doesn't seem like it. Kim seems really happy too…"

"And she's no different than she was before she was dating Shego?" the doctor continued on.

Joss nodded. "It's the same old Kim. That's one of the confusing things, you know? I figured that she would change when I found out that she was dating Shego, like somehow Shego would corrupt her. It's just weird."

"But, if Kim is the same and you're treating her as if she's changed, you're really the one being weird, right?" Anne reasoned in a patient tone.

Silence again before another nod. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"So, I think that you should go back to treating Kim as you did before. Since she is the same, you should be the same, right?"

And yet another nod. "I guess I should. What about Trin, though? She's really weird."

The doctor smiled a little. "Well, let's find out what's weird about Trin. I know you've always been a little shy around Trin, not knowing where you stand with her. So, what's weird about her?" she inquired in a gentle tone.

"Well, my mom and Nana always said that she's bad. She seemed really scary to me when I was little…" the young woman confessed, even though that was not hard to tell. Joss used to avoid Trin like the plague when she was a little girl.

"And now that you're older and you've been living with her the past few weeks?"

"That's where it gets weird! She's not really scary at all. She's kinda normal! She cooks really good and makes everybody's favorites all the time and she does all the cleaning, even for Shego, who's always mean to her! Even for me…" Joss rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "…who's always mean to her…"

"You feel bad about it, huh?" Anne leaned over to put a hand on Joss' shoulder.

"Staying with her, I was scared at first. I thought she was going to be so mean to me, so I guess I showed up with a chip on my shoulder. But, she wasn't mean. It was all my fault and I hurt her and Kim so much and they're still being nice to me. I don't know what to do!" Green eyes glistened with unshed tears. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand again, successfully keeping the tears at bay.

"Apologizing would be a good start," Anne pointed out.

"I don't think that would cover it. It wouldn't even start to cover it. I mean, I was so bad that I actually made Trin run away. I never thought I would see something like that. When I thought about, I knew she should've killed me. My mom and Nana made me think that she'd kill me for less than that, but instead she ran away," Joss explained, sounding in total shock.

"Joss, I know this might shock you considering some of the things that you've heard through out your life and Trin's behavior a lot of the time, but she really cares about you. To Trin, family is very important and she knows it's something that you take for granted, so when you open your heart and let her in as family, she'll treat you as such because she knows how precious you are. While you're here and you see her do all of those things for you, for Shego, and such, that's her trying to come into your heart. Now, you might find this hard to believe, but Shego is already in there. Everyone that's here has let Trin in. You should too. You won't regret it."

"Aunt Anne…why did you adopt her?" Joss asked curiously.

"Because she needed me and now I need her. Joss, how she got here doesn't matter. She's here and she's going to be here. She's a Possible, as much as I am, so you need to accept that. You accept me as your aunt, so accept her as your cousin. Love her and let her love you in return."

Joss nodded. "Can she love?"

"You've seen her do it. You've seen her take care of Kim."

"Yeah, but that girl…that girl…her girlfriend…She's not very good to her. They don't even hug or nothing."

"They've been going through a bad patch. They'll get better. Try not to give them a hard time. I know you're not used to homosexuals and you're not used to your cousin Trin or her girlfriend Tatsu or even Shego. Give them all a chance, Joss. They haven't done you any harm yet, so try to extend them the same courtesy. Your dad really wants you to get along with your cousins."

Joss glanced away, shame coating her face once again. "I know."

"But, more so, your cousins really want to get along with you. They want to like you and they want you to like them. You have to meet them halfway. There's only so far people are going to go before they feel their effort is not being appreciated."

"You're right. So, what do I do, aside for apologizing?" the younger female asked curiously. She tilted her head, as if that would insure that she did not miss anything.

Anne laughed. "Act better. Be friendlier and don't try anymore preemptive strikes. They're not here to pick a fight with you and you shouldn't assume they are or this is just going to happen again. I know you don't want to feel this bad again."

Joss shook her head. "No, ma'am. I don't like this feeling at all. I will certainly be better as soon as they come in. I'll be really friendly," she vowed.

Anne smiled; she could not wait to see her niece in action. She hoped that Joss was being serious and did want to change. She thought that Joss would get along well with her daughters if she just gave them a chance. She also knew that it would make her daughters feel very good if Joss connected with them.

"Um…Aunt Anne…you wouldn't happen to know how to do calculus, would you?" Joss asked curiously, giving the redhead a sidelong glance.

Anne could not help laughing and moved closer to Joss to get a look at the math work that was giving the girl so much trouble. They were taken from their work when they heard the door open and they were joined by Tatsu and Trin, whose hands were full of grocery bags. The couple turned their attention to the living and blinked hard, shocked by Anne's presence.

"Mom, what're you doing here?" Trin asked curiously.

"I wanted to talk to several people, all of whom happened to be here," Anne remarked with a smile.

"Well, we need to put these away then you can talk to whichever one us you might happen to need," Trin replied.

"I'll help. That way I can talk to you in private," Anne answered and then she looked over at Tatsu. "It's nothing bad," she added, knowing how deeply the mechanic worried.

The mechanic had no problem with backing off now that she knew her blonde bombshell was not going to be getting bad news. She put her bags down in the kitchen and then went into the living room while the mother and daughter occupied the kitchen. For a moment, Tatsu was at a loss for what to do and then suddenly she found the remote in her hand. She looked at the arm giving her the remote and was seriously stunned to find out that the limb belonged to Joss.

"I'm not really watching nothing, so I figure you might want the TV," Joss explained with a small smile.

Tatsu could only nod. She mumbled her thanks and took the remote. She turned to a movie while Joss went back to her homework. They were both surprised to find that they could existent in a comfortable silence.

--------------

"It's mighty quiet out there. I hope Tatsu didn't make too much of a mess when she killed Joss," Trin remarked dully.

"I doubt that's the cause. I think that Joss is actually going to try to get along with you all. She does like it here," Anne replied.

"I thought as much since she didn't call home crying yet. Still, her attitude leaves much to be desired."

"I'm sure it does. Give her time. I'm proud of you for having this much patience with her. You're growing up so well," Anne teased with a bright smile. She reached out and caressed Trin's cheek a couple of times.

Trin blushed ever-so slightly. "It's not a big deal, Mom. Joss is making an effort too, even if she doesn't know it. She's changing little by little and that's why I don't mind having her around." She noted that Joss was not as bad now as she had been when she threw her tantrum, but she also noticed that Joss did not seem to notice her own change in behavior. While the girl was a bit subdued and withdrawn, she was not as mean, nasty, or rude anymore.

"That's good, dear. I'm still proud of you. That's one of the things I wanted to tell you. The other thing I wanted to tell you was that Angelos is going to be fine. His parents have been hounding me to find out how his operation was paid for, but I wasn't sure what to tell them. Do I tell them anything?" Anne asked.

"No, that's unnecessary. I would actually appreciate it if you could lie to them. Tell them they won a sweepstakes or something," the blonde answered while turning to take out the groceries.

"And why is that, Trin? You don't want you brother to know—" Anne was swiftly cut off.

"He's not my brother, Mom," Trin stated in a soft tone. "I don't know any of those people. I'm just glad that he's going to be all right."

Anne held up her hands to show that she gave up. "Okay, okay. That's your decision."

"I don't want to disrupt their lives. The boys, they're happy. They have a decent father and they have friends. It's best I stay a nonexistent element in their lives."

"You know, she spoke about you, a few times. She saw you the day you came up there and recognized you, if only for a moment. She spoke of you as if you were still in her life. I think she wants that," Anne said.

"Yes, well, sometimes we want things that we'll never get. I'm quite happy with the mother I have and I have nothing to say to her."

Anne had to force a smile from coming onto her face. Somewhere deep down, she felt ashamed to be pleased to know her daughter preferred her to her birth mother, but over all of that, she just felt joy. Trin loved the family that she was in and had no desire to seek out any others, even if she had a right to.

"I met her a few years back," the blonde suddenly confessed.

"You did?" All of those joyous feelings sank for a moment. Anne wondered if she had done something wrong a few years back, something that drove Trin to seek out her birth mother.

Blue eyes focused on the redhead. "I only went to see her to confirm that she was a stranger to me, Mom. No one could ever replace you. You should know that." A smile topped it all off.

Anne smiled too and then was caught off guard when Trin came in for a hug. "You're going to make me cry with all of this special attention," the mother commented.

"You are special, Mom. I could live for a million years and I doubt that I could express just how special you are to me. You and Dad make everything possible for me. Everything in my life is because of you two."

"You make us so proud, Trin. Not a day goes by that we don't think about how great you are," Anne promised.

"Thank you. Stay for dinner?"

"Of course. I do love your cooking."

Trin smiled like a child that was given candy. Anne chuckled a bit for a second and then regarded her daughter with serious eyes. Trin waited for whatever else her mother had to say.

"How are things between you and Tatsu?" the neurosurgeon asked.

"Much better. She wants to live with me. I've got to run the idea by Shin, but I'm looking forward to it."

"I suppose I should tell your father that he needs to have a talk with Tatsu. She's going to have to make an honest woman out of you soon," Anne remarked, but there was some truth to her words.

Trin blinked, but she did not say anything. A light blush stained her face and she turned to continue putting things away. Anne helped a little, but she left before a minute was up. She went out into the living room and requested that Joss go lend a hand in the kitchen. Joss hesitated for a moment, but then she got up and jogged into the kitchen.

"Um…your mom said I could help…" Joss explained to Trin.

"I have no problem with that. Just ask if you don't know where something goes," Trin replied.

Joss nodded and got to work. Meanwhile, Anne sat down next to Tatsu. The mechanic glanced over at the doctor and grinned nervously.

"Trin tells me you're going to move in," Anne said.

"I want to…" Tatsu admitted in a mumble.

"That's good. You know she's very happy about it. I want you to know Tatsu that we want you two to work. You make her happy and we, me and my husband, like that. As long as you keep doing that, we'll root for you, okay?"

"Okay…" Tatsu replied, not sure what else to say.

"Tatsu, you're part of our family too, okay? So, you can come to us if you need anything. We want to help," Anne informed the mechanic.

"Thanks…I'll be sure to remember that. It's…um…it's good to know that you want me to be with your daughter," Tatsu admitted with a shy smile.

Anne smiled back and decided to hold off saying anything about Tatsu making an honest woman out of Trin. She figured that later on she would drop hints to let the mechanic know that she was there to help whenever Tatsu worked up the courage to propose. Although, she thought that Trin might beat Tatsu to proposing considering how shy Tatsu always seemed.

They sat quietly while Trin and Joss worked in the kitchen. Joss remained in there, even as Trin started cooking. The teen watched her cousin work without a word passing between them. There was some tension, but it was not crushing or intense.

"Trin…" Joss started.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you and Kim together later on?" Joss requested in a low voice.

"I've no problem with that."

Joss smiled a bit. Dinner was served as soon as Kim and Shego came in. The couple was stunned to see Anne sitting at the table as they came in. They took their usual seats while watching Anne as if they expected her to pull a gun.

"Mom, what're you doing here?" Kim finally asked.

"I came to visit my daughters. Is that all right?" Anne countered with a smile.

"Of course!" Kim grinned, very happy to see the older redhead.

Shego glanced at Anne suspiciously for a moment, but let it go since she knew that the Possibles rarely had negative ulterior motives, at least when it came to each other. They had dinner with everyone providing intelligent conversation. For the first time in what seemed like forever, dinner was about more than food and teasing.

Shego took in what she was seeing while eating and adding to the discussion whenever she could. Joss was smiling much more than she had been in the past few days and seemed to purposely be directing her attention and words to everyone at the table as much as possible. Trin also seemed to be making an effort to pay attention to Joss, which made Kim unconsciously do the same. Shego shook her head and smirked at Anne. The doctor shrugged.

After dinner, Anne left the apartment, wanting to get back home before midnight. The group of five were left alone and went to unwind with a movie. Shego yanked Tatsu off into the kitchen, announcing that they would get the snacks. Tatsu did not argue and the Possibles were left alone.

"About as subtle as a sledgehammer your girl is," Trin said to Kim.

"I suppose, but why did she do that?" Kim asked.

"Joss has something that she would like to say to us," Trin answered. The sisters then turned their attention to the Montana native.

"Um…" Joss laughed nervously. "I'm…I'm sorry about everything before. I was being a brat. You guys have been so nice to me and I've just been a burden. I'm going to try my best to be better, you know?" she apologized.

"If you put forth the effort, we'll definitely do the same, cousin," Kim promised.

"I will," Joss vowed. "I'm really sorry for the way I acted."

"No need to repeat it. You've apologized with words, now show that you mean them with your actions," Trin said.

Joss nodded and her effort was almost immediately recognized. When Shego and Tatsu returned with popcorn, they curled up with their girlfriends and Joss did not even make a face. They were able to watch a couple of movies without a bad word or feeling between them…well, except for Shego and Trin anyway. The first step toward normalcy and now it just had to be maintained.

----(New day)

Joss sighed as she grabbed her bags and shouldered the duffle bag. Her expression brightened considerably when she saw a tall cowboy waiting by the airport exit. His face lit up at the sight of Joss.

"Dad!" Joss called before jumping on him and hugging him tightly. She did not realize how much she missed him until seeing him. Talking on the phone just was not the same thing as talking face to face!

"Hey! I'm so glad you're back! I missed you the whole summer!" Slim said while holding onto his daughter tightly.

"It's nice to be back," Joss replied as her father put her down.

"Yeah? You always sounded like you were having such a good time while you were away," Slim pointed out as they started out to his truck, which he had parked illegally. Luckily enough for them, the truck was still there and no one had written him a ticket just yet. Joss chuckled a little, thinking about how Trin had done the same thing when she drove Joss to the airport earlier that day.

"I was. I met a lot of people while I was there and we all got to be pretty good friends. I have to email so many people when I get in. A couple of people actually live close to Kim and they said it would be all right for me to visit. Trin and Kim said it was okay for me to come back whenever I could to stay with them, so I could see them and my friends. Oh, and wait until you see all of the new, free stuff I got from the program! I should get my grades next week and I know I passed everything with high marks! I'm going to have college credits!" Joss raved all the way home and her father could not help smiling all the way through.

Joss did not stop talking through out the whole car ride home, going on about the program, the university, her classes, her friends, and her cousins especially. Slim just listened; he was quite happy to do so since his daughter was so excited. Joss did the same with her mother when they arrived at the ranch. Her mother matched Slim's emotions until Joss started going on about her cousins and their girlfriends, but Joss did not notice her mother's change in demeanor. After talking nonstop for almost three hours, Joss went to put all of her things away in her room.

When she entered her room, she was assaulted by her many posters of Ron Stoppable. She felt a twinge in her heart and then she recalled her cousins' words. A crush was called so because they hurt, but they promised her that she would get over it and someday she would meet a boy that would have mutual interest in her. It was time to get over the hurt, so she took down all of her posters.

After her posters were down, she started putting away her books. She put her new calculator in her desk and then started putting pictures up on her walls and on her desk. There were some pictures of her new friends that she promised to stay in touch with. She placed the last picture on her desk, where she spent much of her time. The picture was of her and the two couples that she stayed with over the summer. She then grabbed the phone and dialed a now familiar number.

"Hi, Tatsu, it's Joss…I got home fine," the teen reported. "Trin and Kim aren't there right now? It's okay. I'll call back later. You be good."

"You too," Tatsu replied with an amused smile. The call was disconnected, but Tatsu was certain that Joss would reach out again soon to connect with her cousins. It had just been that kind of summer.

--------------

The end.

If you would like to see more of Trin, Tatsu, and Shin, check out: Pariah, Forsaken, Memoirs of the Malcontent, Night Terrors, Crypic, Underdogs, Black Hole Philosophy, and The Beast Within: Special Edition.


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